WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have released for public consumption their much-anticipated Heavy-Duty National Program that they claim will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase fuel efficiency for on-road heavy-duty vehicles. 

NHTSA's proposed fuel consumption standards and EPA's proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions standards would affect three regulatory categories of heavy-duty vehicles:  combination tractors, heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, and vocational vehicles, as well as gasoline and diesel heavy-duty engines.

EPA's proposed greenhouse gas emission standards under the Clean Air Act would begin with model year (MY) 2014.  NHTSA's proposed fuel consumption standards under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 would be voluntary in MY 2014 and 2015, becoming mandatory with MY 2016 for most regulatory categories.  Commercial trailers would not be regulated in this phase of the

Heavy-Duty National Program, but there have been discussions already about adding trailers for future action.

TRALA has already conducted two webinars on the NHTSA and EPA proposal within the past month - one focusing on the new engine standards and another on the vehicle standards.

TRALA will now work with its Equipment and Technology Advisory Council to develop formal comments on these proposals in the next 60 days as comments on all aspects of this proposal must be received on or before January 31, 2011.

The view the entire proposal introduced in the Federal Register yesterday, please click here:  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-28120.pdf

If you have any questions or would like more information about the trailer webinar next week, please contact Jake Jacoby at jjacoby@trala.org or at (703) 299-9120.