Washington Report: Clean Truck Plan

by Patty Power, ACPA Washington Advocate

In 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Clean Truck Plan to reduce truck emissions through a series of three rulemakings, all targeting emission reductions starting in model year 2027. The first was a reduction in the NOx emission standard by over 80 percent for heavy-duty trucks. EPA finalized this new NOx emission standard in December 2022. The second is the greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty trucks proposed in April 2023 and discussed in more detail below. The third rule will set multipollutant standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles beginning in model year 2027.

In the Spring issue, this column discussed EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty trucks for model years 2027 through 2032. These new standards would be met through the increased use of zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) technology. It is important to note that these EPA standards apply to the truck manufacturers, the original equipment manufacturers (OEM), and not to concrete pump operators. However, the proposed emission standards may impact concrete pumpers who plan to purchase new vehicles. The American Concrete Pumping Association (ACPA) made public comment at an EPA hearing and provided written comment on the proposed rule. ACPA opposed these proposed standards because the truck manufacturers who build the chassis for concrete pumps told us that the technology does not yet exist to meet the standards.

ACPA’s comments focused on the following four points:

• Technology needed by the truck manufacturers to meet the standards in the time allowed in the proposed rule does not exist;
• ZEV vehicles are expected to be considerably heavier than diesel-powered trucks because the electric batteries are bigger and heavier than diesel engines and the added weight could restrict road and bridge access for concrete pumps;
• ZEV charging stations are not available everywhere that concrete pumps operate, especially in rural areas; and
• Concrete pumps cannot risk losing power during a pour without great risk to equipment and operators.

In September, ACPA met with the EPA regulators to review ACPA’s comments. EPA explained that their proposed standards apply to classes of vehicles, not specific vehicles, and do not mandate the use of a specific technology. And further, EPA explained that in their modeling of the standard, concrete pumps fell into a class of heavy-duty vehicles assumed to not make any progress toward meeting the new greenhouse gas standards. While this news is reassuring, ACPA will continue to work with our truck manufacturers and industry partners, including the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association and the American Trucking Associations, to ensure that the federal regulators understand and address the needs of concrete pumps.

The California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) has been implementing a plan parallel to the EPA’s emission standard setting. CARB adopted its Low NOx Heavy-Duty Omnibus Regulation in August 2020. While the EPA applies its reduced NOx emission standard to heavy-duty trucks in model year 2027, CARB plans to implement its Low NOx Heavy-Duty Omnibus rule in model year 2024.

The new emission standards issued by the EPA and California pose some challenges for the concrete pumping industry.

This spring, CARB approved a “first-of-its-kind” rule to require a phased-in transition toward zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule sets a goal to transition all trucks used in California to zero-emission technology by 2045, beginning with new truck purchases in 2024. The rule includes the ability to continue operating existing vehicles through their useful life. Fleets must come into compliance between 2035 and 2045, depending on their California classification. The ACF requirements apply to fleets that either have more than $50 million in annual revenue or have 50 or more vehicles with a gross weight rating of 8,500 pounds. Fleets can chose between two compliance options — model year schedule or ZEV milestone option.

The ACF rule includes the ZEV Purchase Exemption List that will be posted on the CARB website by January 1, 2025 for specific vehicles currently not configured to support zero-emission technology.

There are state and federal funding opportunities available to support EV infrastructure and the purchase of zero-emission trucks.

In addition to California, six states say they will also implement the ACF, including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, Oregon and Washington.

While meeting the new EPA and CARB emission standards will be challenging, the current conflict in the implementation dates, especially for the NOx heavy-duty emission standard where EPA’s starts in 2027 and CARB’s in 2024 is especially problematic. ACPA will be working with our partner associations in Washington and with our California members to identify opportunities to minimize impacts on concrete pumpers across the nation.