When the news broke Monday that President Biden’s administration is likely to soon approve a waiver for California to enact its own emission regulations, I must admit I wasn’t stunned. We all know California likes to set its own rules on emissions, and the state’s aggressive timeline to phase out diesel trucks doesn’t work without Federal support and acceptance.
What caught me by surprise was California wants to target 2024 model year trucks and buses with its new rules. You know, the same model year customers are receiving from their dealers and OEM partners each day.
That doesn’t seem right to me.
I know California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) regulatory policy isn’t built around fairness, few regulations are, but I hate the idea of enacting regulations on equipment that’s already in use. Many of the customers who are receiving 2024 model year trucks and buses in California have been waiting for that equipment for a year or more. They’ve been hungry to turn over their fleets and return to the normal trade cycles they had pre-pandemic and now, with little warning, they may soon discover the shiny new equipment they just paid for could be impacted by a new regulation? That feels wrong.
[RELATED: EMA boss says trucking needs single regulatory body setting emission standards]
Just last year, the Truck and Engine Manufacturers (EMA) filed then later withdrew a lawsuit against CARB regarding regulatory lead times. It remains to be seen if the regulations the state hopes to enact with the White House’s waiver will re-trigger that litigation.
I don’t love CARB setting its own regulations in any capacity — I support stronger emission regulations and understand why the state continues to push for cleaner trucks — but if we’re going to clean up the trucking industry, we should do it as a nation. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed 2027 emission and greenhouse gas regulations seem like a better way forward. Make no mistake, EPA’s 2027 regulations are another huge leap toward industry decarbonization. But the agency was talked off its most extreme regulatory timeline and published a proposed rule that pushes the industry without forcing total chaos.
