Environmental Protection Agency No Longer Enforcing Production Cap on Higher-Polluting Glider Trucks

The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that it will no longer enforce the 2018-2018 production cap on glider trucks. Glider trucks are essentially refurbished engines that are capable of producing up to 55 times the amount of air pollution compared to brand new engines with modern emissions controls. Prior to this announcement, the EPA had a cap on the number of glider trucks manufacturers could produce a year. The 2018-2019 limit imposed in January was 300.

While they may be capable of producing more air pollution, many manufacturers argue that glider trucks are significantly less expensive to operate. In July of last year senior officials from three glider makers wrote to Administrator Pruitt asking him to reconsider the Phase 2 Rule, established in 2016, placing stringent requirements on glider trucks. In their letter, the glider makers argued that these strict new regulations would be detrimental to the industry and “significantly curtail American manufacturing and effectively shut down the glider industry and the nearly 20,000 jobs it supports across the nation.”

Prior to the imposition of the production cap, in 2015 roughly 10,000 glider trucks were sold nationally, a number that constituted approximately four percent of new heavy-duty truck sales. EPA spokeswoman stated that the agency is considering delaying the production limit cap until December 2019, by which time it hopes to have permanently repealed the cap.

To view the 2017 letter written to Administrator Pruitt, click here: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-07/documents/hd-ghg-fr-fitzgerald-recons-petition-2017-07-10.pdf