(Image FTDJ)
Less than a week after the EPA latest overreach in the form of a controversial water rule, the EPA has once again set its sights on yet another supposed “danger” to the environment: semi-trucks.
The New York Times reports that the EPA is set to propose new regulations on any truck “larger than a pickup” in an effort to cut carbon emissions and fight Climate Change:
“This week, the E.P.A. is expected to propose regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty trucks, requiring that their fuel economy increase up to 40 percent by 2027, compared with levels in 2010, according to people briefed on the proposal. A tractor-trailer now averages five to six miles a gallon of diesel. The new regulations would seek to raise that average to as much as nine miles a gallon. A truck’s emissions can vary greatly, depending on how much it is carrying.
The hotly debated rules, which cover almost any truck larger than a standard pickup, are the latest in a stack of sweeping climate change policy measures on which President Obama hopes to build his environmental legacy. Already, his administration has proposed rules to cut emissions from power plants and has imposed significantly higher fuel efficiency standards on passenger vehicles.”
The New York Times notes that the new regulations will put a significant burden on the trucking industry by driving up the manufacturing cost of a tractor-trailer $12,000-$14,000. Because the majority of food and products are transported by the trucking industry in the United States the added cost of the EPA’s regulations are expected to be passed onto consumers.
