EPA to Congress: Engine Deadline Will Stand

The Bush administration is adamant that it will not push back the October deadline for cleaner diesel engines.

In the latest developments in the months-long tussle over new emission standards, the Environmental Protection Agency stood up to congressional pressure for a reprieve, and the White House signaled its support for the agency.
Trucking industry concerns about the emissions requirements are “based largely on a misunderstanding” of the agreement between the government and engine manufacturers, said Environmental Protection Agency chief Christine Todd Whitman in a letter to Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill., and a group of congressmen who had asked for a deadline delay.
“Although the (consent) decrees will increase the cost of heavy-duty diesel trucks – at least temporarily – these price increases are relatively minor and primarily due to the regulatory standard change and not to the acceleration of the more stringent standard,” Whitman said.
In a related development, the White House came down on the side of EPA, according to a report in The Washington Post. The story quoted an unnamed official of the White House Office of Management and Budget, saying that “moving forward is the right thing to do.”
In her letter, Whitman contested trucking industry estimates that engine manufacturers will have to pay $15,000 for each engine that does not meet the October standard. She said the actual per-engine penalty is more likely to be $4,000 to $5,000.
Further, Whitman said, engine manufacturers are not likely to pass this full cost along to truck buyers – “the actual per engine price increase will be in the range of $3,000 to $3,500.”
And, while EPA expects that some trucking companies are “pre-buying” trucks in order to avoid the more expensive, compliant engines, the extent of the pre-buying is not clear. “A major pre-buy has not yet occurred – at least through May of this year,” Whitman said.