EPA preparing new rules for cutting diesel, gas emissions
and costly health effects. “These new standards will drastically cut dangerous pollution by harnessing recent advancements in vehicle technol- ogies fromacross the trucking industry as it advances towardazero-emissions trans- portation future,” Regan said. Chris Spear, president of the American Trucking Association, said in a statement that the association shares the adminis- tration’s goals of cutting air pollution, but reliable trucks will be needed. “We want to ensure that the Biden administration sets one, single national
NOx emissions standard and that such standard can be achievedwithworkable, reliable technology,” Spear said, adding that “anything less than that will be ex- tremely problematic.” A virtual public hearing concerning the rule will be scheduled. For more in- formation, go to epa.gov/regulations- emi ss ions-vehicles-and-engines/ p r o p o s e d - r u l e - a n d - r e l a t e d - materials-control-air-1. (Kevin Hecteman i s an ass i stant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at khecteman@cfbf.com.)
ByKevinHecteman The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is readying new rules to cut ni- trogen-oxide emissions fromheavy-duty diesel and gasoline engines by asmuchas 60%by 2045. Chris Shimoda, senior vice president of government affairs at the California Trucking Association, said the EPA is pro- posinganitrous-oxide limit of 0.05gramas of 2027, withanoption for a further reduc- tion to 0.02 gramby 2031. Nitrous oxide, commonly abbreviated NOx, is a component of soot and smog. The EPA is seeking to update green- house-gas standards for certaincategories of commercial vehicles. “Starting in 2027, when the feder- al standard kicks in, you can expect two things: the cost of the truck to go up, and for the truck to have more maintenance issues, which results in downtime and cost,” Shimoda said. Extended-warranty requirements for emission-control com- ponentsarepart of theproposal, headded. The California Air Resources Board has already adopted a stricter nitrogen-oxide standardfornewtruckssoldandregistered in the state. The state is seeking to achieve a 0.05 gramNOx limit by 2024 and a 0.02 level by 2027, Shimoda said. “For the person operating the vehicle, you’re going to see a new generation of emissions controls,” he said. “And with that comes added expense, addedmain- tenance.” Typically, he noted, the first couple of years will see higher-than-nor- mal warranty rates and component fail- ureswhilemakers are fine-tuning thenew emission-control systems. Retrofitting existing equipment is not part of the EPAproposal or theCARB rule, Shimodasaid, noting that thestate’sobjec- tive is zero emissions. Shimoda said the state’s Advanced CleanTrucks regulationseeks togradually increase the percentage of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold in thestate, somethingEPAdidnotmakepart of its proposal. In a statement, EPA said cutting air pol- lutionnear transportationcorridorswas a prime goal. Conference set on digital tech, crops The International Conference on Digital Technologies for Sustainable CropProductionwill be held remotely on March 28-30. DIGICROP2022featuresresearcherswho develop digital technologies to enhance the sustainability of crop production, crop breeding, biodiversityandecosystems. The talks may be viewed ahead of time at digicrop.de/program. Registration is open until March 24 and is free. Visit digicrop.de/register. For more information, email digicrop2022@ phenorob.de.
“Seventy-two million people are esti- mated to live near truck freight routes in America, and they are more likely to be people of color and those with lower in- comes,”EPAAdministratorMichael Regan said in a statement. “These overburdened communities are directly exposed to pol- lution that causes respiratory and cardio- vascular problems, among other serious
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March 16, 2022 Ag Alert 15
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