EPA Sets Hearing for CARB Emissions Proposal

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be holding a public hearing June 29 on proposed new emission standards for trucks and engines in California.

The hearing, which will be conducted virtually, will cover the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) proposed regulations governing emissions — and if implemented — would require manufacturers to produce and sell increasing numbers of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. During the hearing, EPA will accept public comments on the proposal, as well as on California’s request to extend the state’s emissions warranty periods for heavy-duty diesel engines and vehicles.

CARB’s “Omnibus” Low NOX regulation, which it adopted in August 2020, establishes the next generation of criteria for nitrous oxide and particulate matter emissions from new medium- and heavy-duty engines and vehicles beginning with the 2024 model year.

The Advanced Clean Trucks Act, which CARB adopted in January 2021, requires manufacturers to produce and sell increasing quantities of zero-emission and near-zero emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks in California.

In October 2021, CARB notified the EPA that it had finalized amendments to its emission standards and associated test procedures for heavy-duty diesel vehicles and engines. These amendments, adopted by CARB in June 2018, extend the emissions warranty periods for 2022 and subsequent model year heavy-duty diesel engines. They also extend the emissions warranty period for 2022 and subsequent model year diesel vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating exceeding 14,000 pounds.

CARB is asking the EPA to conclude that the 2018 amendments are within the scope of a waiver the agency previously granted for the state’s emission standards and associated test procedures, or grant the state a new waiver of preemption for the amendments.