DOT, EPA Offer Rules to Cut Truck Diesel, Carbon

The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation announced the first national standards to cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty commercial diesel trucks and buses, estimating a savings of 500 million barrels of oil over the lives of the vehicles made in the first five years of the program.

For heavy-duty truck tractors, the engine and vehicle standards start with the 2014 model year and aim for "up to a 20 percent reduction in (carbon dioxide) emissions and fuel consumption by 2018 model year," the agencies said Oct. 25.

Vocational or smaller commercial vehicles would see up to a 10 percent reduction, while heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans would face up to 10 percent reductions for gasoline powered engines and 15 percent for diesels.

By The Numbers: U.S. Diesel Prices.

"Through new fuel-efficiency standards for trucks and buses, we will not only reduce transportation's environmental impact, we'll reduce the cost of transporting freight," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "This is a win-win-win for the environment, businesses and the American consumer."

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said this is another in a series of vehicle standards "that will improve our environment and strengthen our economy."

She said the dual purpose rules mean both "cutting greenhouse gas pollution" and delivering "greater fuel economy (that) will shrink fuel costs for small businesses that depend on pickups and heavy duty vehicles, shipping companies and cities and towns with fleets of these vehicles. Those savings can be invested in new jobs at home, rather than heading overseas and increasing our dependence on foreign oil."

DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and EPA are proposing three categories of commercial vehicle standards for vehicles of differing sizes and uses. They estimated their program will generate "$41 billion in net benefits over the lifetime of model year 2014 to 2018 vehicles."

They said fuel efficiency should rise between 7 percent and 20 percent, with long-haul truck operators seeing required technology upgrades pay for themselves within a year and saving perhaps $74,000 over a truck's useful life.