Tighter pollution control on trucks is an anomalous move for a government known for weakening environmental policies but one that would preempt tougher state rules.
Andrew Wheeler is the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). On Monday, the legal and regulatory process for curbing highway truck emissions of nitrogen dioxide began. This happened after the said emission of nitrogen oxide was linked to asthma and heart and lung diseases.
However, this tightening of existing standards is an uncharacteristic move from an administration that has prided itself on a series of regulatory rollbacks.
They will launch the Cleaner Trucks Initiative, which would update an outdated rule aimed at cutting nitrogen dioxide pollution from U.S. highways. This initiative aims to curb highway emissions of nitrogen oxide and other pollutants from heavy-duty engines.
The trucking industry had tried to persuade the administration to impose a national standard as states like California moved forward with stricter rules of their own.
While this can be a nominal feat for the Trump administration, public health experts say the truck regulations are not as out of line with administration policy as they would appear. It may still fall far short of what is necessary to significantly prevent respiratory illness and even premature deaths.
According to some environmental advocates, they fear that EPA's proposal could preempt even more stringent rules being considered in California.
Health and environmental groups are skeptical of the new rules including Margo Oge, director of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality from 1994 to 2012, who said, "I am very suspicious about what is going on here."
Last year, EPA Administrator Pruitt signed a proposal to revoke the emission standards and other requirements for heavy-duty glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits.
Meanwhile, in August 2011, in response to a Presidential Memorandum issued in May 2010, EPA in coordination with NHSTA issued greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards for trucks produced in model years 2014-2018.
EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are taking measured steps to enable the production of a new generation of clean vehicles.
According to Wheeler, EPA's acting administrator, "The Cleaner Trucks Initiative will help modernize heavy-duty truck engines, improving their efficiency and providing cleaner air for all Americans."
It has been nearly 20 years since EPA updated standards on NOx emissions.
The Trump administration appears to be complying with the wishes of the trucking industry, which has called for a new national nitrogen dioxide regulation to override states that could otherwise implement their own, tighter rules. Meanwhile, the EPA rule is likely to open a new battle in Trump's ongoing war with California over environmental regulations and states' rights.
Nitrogen oxides, or NOx, have been deemed as a cause of several respiratory problems.
Last November 2018, EPA intended to update the standards for heavy-duty trucks, which were last revised in 2001.
According to EPA, the USA's NOx emissions dropped more than 40 percent between 2007 and 2017 due to decreasing emissions from various sources.
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