American Petroleum Institute, Truckers Sue EPA Over Emissions Rules for Heavy-Duty Vehicles

Semi-trailer trucks move along the Lincoln Highway in Breezewood, Pa., on Oct. 14, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The American Petroleum Institute (API) filed a lawsuit on June 18 against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the agency’s new rules that tighten emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles.

In March, the EPA finalized new federal greenhouse gas emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles, such as freight trucks and buses, with the regulations applicable to model years 2027 through 2032.

The standards vary based on the type of vehicle. Light-heavy vocational vehicles require a 60 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from previous standards by 2032. A 25 percent reduction has been set for sleeper cab tractors. To meet the standards, fleets must increase the number of zero-emissions vehicles in their operations, the API states.

The API calculates that more than 40 percent of work trucks used by model year 2032 will have to be zero-emissions. In addition, long-haul tractor fleets need to have 25 percent of their vehicles zero-emissions by this time, up from the current zero percent, it said.

The API filed the lawsuit against the agency over the new rule, asking that the court “declare unlawful and vacate EPA’s final action.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation, National Corn Growers Association, and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) are co-petitioners in the case.

When announcing the final rule, the EPA said the regulations will protect public health and “address the climate crisis.”

The EPA pointed out that heavy-duty vehicles make up 25 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector in the United States, making these types of vehicles the single largest source of such emissions in the country.

The agency projected that the rule will prevent 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions while offering $13 billion in annualized net benefits in the form of “public health, the climate, and savings for truck owners and operators.”

“With this action, the Biden-Harris Administration is continuing to deliver on the most ambitious climate agenda in history while advancing a historic commitment to environmental justice,” the EPA said.

Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer warned that the rule will “devastate” the U.S. supply chain and eventually raise costs for consumers.

Small business truckers, who make up 96 percent of trucking in the country, could end up being regulated out of business because of the EPA’s “unworkable” regulations, Mr. Spencer said.

National Corn Growers Association President Harold Wolle criticized the rule, saying the EPA is trying to impose a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing climate change by pushing electric vehicles when alternatives such as corn ethanol could be considered.

“While it could take decades to get enough electric vehicles on the road to make a dent in [greenhouse gas] emissions, lower carbon fuels such as ethanol are critical and effective climate tools that are available now,” he said.

Expensive Transition

Florida-based transportation and logistics firm Ryder analyzed the potential cost of transportation if internal combustion engine trucks were converted to electric vehicles (EVs). The firm stated in a May 8 report that there would be an estimated 5 percent cost increase for light-duty EVs and a 94 percent to 114 percent increase for heavy-duty trucks in that scenario.

For a fleet of 25 mixed vehicles, including light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks, costs surge by 56 percent to 67 percent, according to Ryder’s estimates.

Because transportation costs have a direct bearing on the price of goods sold in markets across the country, Ryder estimates that such increases would eventually add about 0.5 percent to 1 percent to overall price inflation in the economy.

Meanwhile, the API has also filed a lawsuit against the EPA’s emissions standards for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 to 2032.

The standards require that 68 percent of new passenger vehicles and 43 percent of new medium-duty trucks be electric by 2032, the group said.

The new rule will result in a reduction of roughly 7.2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, with $13 billion in annual health benefits, according to the EPA.

“The benefits of this rule will far exceed the total costs,” the agency stated.

“Consumers are expected to save an average of $6,000 over the lifetime of a new vehicle from reduced fuel and maintenance costs, once the standards are fully phased in.”

The API lawsuit, filed on June 13, asks the court to declare the EPA rule unlawful.