The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) are holding public hearings Aug. 6 and 18 for the joint proposed rules “Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles—Phase 2,'' and also for NHTSA's Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
The proposed rules were published in the Federal Register on July 13, 2015. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement was published on June 19, 2015, and is available on the NHTSA Web site mentioned below.
The Aug. 6 hearing starts at 9 a.m. at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel, 17 East Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois, and the Aug. 18 hearing begins at 9 a.m. in Los Angeles at a location to be announced.
In order to provide commenters 30 days after the last public hearing, the comment period for the proposal is being extended through September 17, 2015.
The proposed rules would establish a second round of standards for the agencies' comprehensive Heavy-Duty National Program, which would further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase fuel efficiency for on-road heavy-duty vehicles. These new standards would phase in over time, beginning in the 2018 model year and entering into full effect in model year 2027.
NHTSA's proposed fuel consumption standards and EPA's proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) emission standards are tailored to each of four regulatory categories of heavy-duty vehicles: (1) Combination Tractors; (2) Trailers used in combination with those tractors; (3) Heavy-duty Pickup Trucks and Vans; and (4) Vocational Vehicles. The proposal also includes separate fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for the engines that power combination tractors and
vocational vehicles.