TYSONS, Va. (Nov. 17, 2022)—Today Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and 16 Senators sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging the agency to ensure its pending nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission rule is technologically achievable and affordable. 

The EPA’s proposed rule, issued in March, includes two options for further reducing NOx emissions from medium- and heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). “Option 1” aims to reduce NOx emissions by 90% by 2031, and “Option 2” would reduce NOx emissions by 75% for MY 2027 and later. Sen. Ernst’s letter urges the EPA to adopt the achievable and more consumer acceptable “Option 2” and to consider any new greenhouse gas mandates in a separate rulemaking. A final rule is expected by the end of the year.

“‘Option 1’ would potentially raise the price of heavy-duty diesel trucks by an average of $42,000, as well as increase operating costs and likely cause a ‘pre-buy, no-buy’ scenario that would harm the market. The trucking industry has already prioritized healthier communities by deploying newer, cleaner, and safer CMVs. ‘Option 1’ would place that priority at risk, along with thousands of well-paying jobs in Iowa and across the nation,” the letter states.

The American Truck Dealers (ATD) supports “Option 2” to ensure CMV affordability and allow for increased fleet turnover with newer trucks that could achieve dramatic emissions reductions.

“We commend Sen. Ernst for her leadership on this issue, which is the top issue facing the trucking industry today,” said ATD Chairman Scott McCandless, and president of McCandless Truck Center LLC of Aurora, Colorado. “With 50 percent of commercial vehicles on today’s roads operating without the latest emissions control technologies, we need emissions standards that are viable for our industry. A model year 1990 truck emits more NOx in one year than a new modern truck generates over a 30-year period.”

“If truck buyers are deterred from purchasing new trucks due to increased costs and new untested technology, these older trucks will stay on the road much longer,” stated McCandless.

The letter was also signed by John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), James Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.). Click here for more information on the EPA’s pending NOx emission rule.