Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1044881
Logbook 14 | Overdrive | November 2018 A rule that would have repealed Obama-era production limits placed on glider kit manufacturers has been re- moved from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's regulatory calendar, casting doubt on whether the rule will be finalized. Proposed by EPA in November 2017, the rule sought to remove the 300-truck annual glider production cap estab- lished by 2016's Phase 2 tractor-trailer emissions regula- tions. If finalized, the rule will allow glider kit manufac- turers such as Fitzgerald Glider Kits and Harrison Truck Centers to return to business as usual. However, the cap took effect in January, and the rule has not progressed. Also last month, Tennessee Tech University says that conclusions reached in a 2017 study conducted by the school into emissions of glider kit trucks are "inaccurate." The study, funded by Fitzgerald Glider Kits, erroneously concluded that glider kits "perform equally as well and in some instances outperform OEM engines" in terms of emissions of greenhouse gases and particulate matter, says a letter from Trudy Harper, TTU vice chair of the board of trustees. EPA has also been asked by House lawmakers to investigate the agency's use of the TTU study. The con- gressional letter is signed by Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), Don Beyer Jr. (D-Virginia), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Oregon) and Jerry McNerney (D-California). EPA spokesperson Molly Block told Overdrive that while the agency is working "on providing certainty to the glider industry," it could not clarify whether it will contin- ue to pursue the rule proposed last November. The agency has launched an investigation into a com- peting study on glider kits amid allegations of improper contact between agency staffers and Volvo Trucks. That study found that glider kits do produce higher emissions of GHG and PM. Block would not say whether the controversies sur- rounding the two studies on glider kit emissions played a role in removing the rule from its regulatory calendar. – James Jaillet Rule to protect gliders appears in jeopardy The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement would allow the United States more control over the existing cross-border trucking program by al- lowing it to cap the number of Mex- ican-domiciled carriers that could receive U.S. operating authority. The newly announced trade deal is meant to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. USMCA also would allow the U.S. Department of Transportation opportunities to evaluate Mexi- can-based carriers that already have U.S. cross-border operating authority. It also would maintain the prohi- bition on Mexican-based carriers hauling freight between two U.S. locations; Mexican-based carriers can haul only cross-border freight and cannot haul loads that originate and end in the United States. The original NAFTA, signed in 1994, called for the United States to set up a process for Mexican carriers to obtain U.S. operating authority and haul cross-border loads be- yond the commercial border zone. In 2015, after a three-year pilot program, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration began allowing any Mexican-domiciled carrier to apply for U.S. authority. However, the USMCA gives the United States the authority to limit the number of carriers that can ob- tain U.S. authority, or even to put a moratorium on granting authority to any more Mexican-based carriers. Mexican carriers that already have authority would be grandfathered. FMCSA's website says 41 Mexican carriers currently have authority. The agreement now must be ratified by Congress and then signed by President Trump to take effect. Trump, citing political divisions, said he is not confident that Congress will approve the deal. The Teamsters and the Own- er-Operator Independent Drivers Association have been strong oppo- nents of allowing Mexican carriers to obtain U.S. authority. – James Jaillet 'New NAFTA' would allow cap on carriers The new agreement would maintain the restriction that Mexican-based carriers cannot haul loads that originate and end in the United States.