The Obama-EPA used authority it didn’t have to kill American manufacturing.” The fact that EPA is failing to roll back an (former President Barack) Obama overreach is insane. Small, rural, American manufacturing that is now losing to Chinese financial interests like Volvo trucks. “This company is the poster child of the president’s agenda. “This is baffling that this is not done,” said Milloy. Steve Milloy, a member of the EPA transition team for President Donald Trump, called the delay “bizarre.” Related story: Rose meets with White House on Fitzgerald In the past year, Fitzgerald has been forced to cut over 90% of its workforce, several hundred employees, as a result of EPA not finalizing the deregulation. The rule that provides relief is reportedly drafted but has not progressed. John Rose (TN-6) confirmed to the UCBJ that the EPA has been sitting on a rule that provides relief for the glider truck industry for two years. The agency said the hearing will conclude once everyone has had a chance to speak.įor those who cannot attend the public hearing, online comments may be submitted here.President Trump discusses the trucking industry at a Fitzgerald facility in Virginia during his 2016 campaign. 4 at 1201 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington D.C. It also said that reopening the rule could danger the clean freight truck investments made by truck fleet and put their employees' jobs at risk.ĮPA will be holding a public hearing on the proposed rule at 10 a.m. The advocacy group claimed that glider vehicles have an unfair advantage over trucks that achieve clean air standards. In the latest documents filed to repeal the rule, EPA cites court cases to claim that since there has been a change in administration, the agency must “assess administrative records and evaluate priorities in light of the philosophy of the administration.”ĮPA now proposes to revisit the rule based on the view that it lacks “authority under CAA to impose requirements on glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits, and therefore proposes to remove the relevant rule provisions.”Īside from the negative environmental impact of reopening the loophole, EDF said the repeal proposal “would unfairly disadvantage freight truck companies complying with current standards.” When Pruitt announced his intention to revisit the rule in August, he stated in a press release that EPA initiated “a rulemaking process that incorporates the latest technical data and is wholly inconsistent with our authority under the Clean Air Act.” Related: Uncertainty Surrounds Trailers and GHG Phase 2 Petitioners also claimed a reconsideration of the rule was necessary due to Executive Order 13783, an “energy independence” order signed by President Donald Trump in March. The petition claimed that EPA is not authorized under the Clean Air Act to regulate glider kits, glider vehicles, and glider engines and that the Phase 2 rule “relied upon unsupported assumptions to arrive at the conclusion that immediate regulation of glider vehicles was warranted.” In the EPA request to repeal, the agency claims that representatives of the glider manufacturing industry wrote a joint petition requesting a review of Phase 2 rule. Pruitt met with Fitzgerald Glider Kits May 8, according to his schedule.įitzgerald Glider Kits could not be reached for comment.
It looks like Administrator Pruitt listened, and he’s willing to do one company a huge favor, protecting a polluter at the cost of our health.” “Fitzgerald’s CEO met with Administrator Pruitt in May to push him to reverse this rule. “The health impacts are even more galling when you consider that this is essentially just a handout to one company, Fitzgerald Glider Kits, which manufactures the largest share of glider vehicles,” Dave Cooke, senior analyst in the Clean Vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement.
The Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association declined to comment on Pruitt's latest move.Įnvironmental impact and public health are two of the biggest concerns for groups advocating for full application of the Phase 2 rule.Īccording to the Environmental Defense Fund, used engine gliders can emit almost 40 times more pollution than modern engines and that, if allowed to operate until 2025, glider vehicles would cause as many as 12,800 premature deaths. The companies noted that they were joining the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association, the American Trucking Associations, and the Truck Rental and Leasing Association in supporting the mandate as written. The letter was signed by executives from Volvo Group North America, Cummins, and Navistar.
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