The debate over new emissions standards issued by the EPA began with President Joe Biden’s administration finalizing the program in late March of this year.
Aiming to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and other pollutants, the new rule was enacted on March 27 and will be implemented for new trucks sold after 2027.
The EPA argues that the new rule will dramatically reduce air pollution from heavy-duty engines and vehicles across the United States. But truckers nationwide are concerned that the rule has been rushed and will risk the American food supply.
Over 95% of the trucking companies that make up the industry are small businesses operating ten or fewer trucks, according to JKC Trucking Vice-President and Co-Owner Mike Kucharski.
The financial implication of complying with the EPA’s clean energy mandates could be devastating for small businesses, as the ATDA projects the associated costs of this new regulation on the country could reach $55 billion over the program’s lifetime.
Kucharski also claims electric vehicles cannot fulfill the distance necessary for truckers’ job requirements. Since electric trucks only have a range of 150-300 miles on a single charge, Kucharski claims it would take multiple charging stops for a truck to make it from Chicago to Los Angeles, for example – not practical for truckers with tight deadlines.
On top of the distance limitation, Kucharski said the lithium batteries weigh around 8,000 pounds, meaning there will be 8,000 pounds less in payload on each electric truck to make room for the 4-ton battery.
In addition, 20 states have sued the EPA for granting California a waiver to issue its own set of truck emissions standards that go further than the federal regulations.
Despite criticism from the trucking community and Republican lawmakers, President Biden effectively killed a resolution that would have blocked the EPA mandate by using his veto power in May.
In addition to the financial and practical implications of the rule for truckers, many worry that trucking capacity nationwide could be tightened, resulting in severe price inflation of goods and services.
“We’re kind of sick of it, the administration and EPA jamming it down the truckers’ throats,” Kucharski said. “These regulations are not practical.”
Kucharski voiced his opinion that the implementation of electric vehicles may genuinely be a good thing in the long run but that the government needs to join forces with the trucking industry to ensure that the technology works before pushing electric vehicles onto truckers.
“My concern is that if this technology fails, the entire supply chain will be dead in the water,” Kucharski said. “Time is money in the trucking industry and this all trickles down to the end user, the American people.”
At the end of the day, the EPA is continuing to push the regulations despite criticism from the trucking industry. Until the government and truckers can agree on a solution, Americans may be in for a rough ride.
