'Super-Polluting' Trucks

[Keith Browning]

Scott Pruitt Grants 'Super-Polluting' Trucks a Loophole on His Final Day as EPA Head

Scott Pruitt's departure as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency last Friday did not come without added controversy. He ended his tenure just after granting a huge loophole for trucks that are among the worst polluters on our roads.

The loophole allows truck companies to continue building new "glider" trucks, which use a remanufactured engine and transmission. Such trucks often use salvaged parts from older or damaged vehicles, which were not built to the same standards as the cleaner vehicles of today.

This could lead to increased emissions of harmful pollutants in the air, which is why the decision was opposed by groups like the American Lung Association, Environmental Defense Fund and UPS, the New York Times reported.

"Pruitt and (new EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler) are creating a loophole for super polluting freight trucks that will fill our children’s lungs with toxic diesel pollution, ignoring public comments from moms and leading businesses across the country," Vickie Patton, the general counsel at the Environmental Defense Fund, told the Times.

Because of the loophole, manufacturers will not be forced to limit their glider production to only 300 vehicles per year through at least the end of 2019. The limit was implemented in January.

The EDF said in a release that these super-polluters can emit up to 40 times more pollutants than the average truck, and a failure to close the loophole would make it much more difficult for local governments – which had no influence on the loophole – to meet air quality goals.

If left in place until 2025, the loophole could lead to more than 12,000 premature deaths because of added pollution, the EDF also said.

About 4 percent of all 2015 heavy-duty truck sales were gliders, the Times reported, and Pruitt's final act could yield a major uptick in production again.

EPA officials defended their decision by citing a Tennessee Tech study that concluded glider trucks produce the same amount of pollution as trucks with newer technology. But the school later said the study was inaccurate. An investigation is ongoing.

Tommy Fitzgerald Sr., CEO at Fitzgerald Glider Kits in Tennessee – the company that funded the Tennessee Tech study – said Pruitt's decision will allow the company to return to full production on the gliders.

"The new truck industry conspired with the Obama EPA to try to put us out of business," Fitzgerald wrote in an op-ed. "Our goose was cooked until President Trump and Pruitt came to town."

Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, was expected to assume the role of EPA administrator on Monday.