EPA Issues Proposal to Pull Glider Kits from GHG/MPG Rule
A new glider kit fitted with an old engine. Photo: Tom Berg
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A new glider kit fitted with an old engine. Photo: Tom Berg
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Following up on an August promise to review Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Standards Phase 2 rule due to concerns raised by certain manufacturers, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposed rule on Nov. 9 that would repeal emission requirements for glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits.
As written, the new rule does not limit the kits’ production, but only allows them to be installed for their traditional uses, such as engine salvage.
The GHG Phase 2 rule, adopted during the final months of the Obama administration, is slated to go into effect Jan. 1.
Now, under the purview of Administrator Scott Pruitt, EPA is moving ahead with its promise to repeal the glider provision found in the 2016 Clean Truck Standards, despite support for the provision from some industry stakeholders.
According to The Washington Post, a Sept. 11 letter to Pruitt urged him not to reopen the rule, stating that glider kits “should not be used for circumventing purchase of currently certified powertrains.”
The letter was signed by executives from Volvo Group North America, Cummins, and Navistar. The companies noted that they were joining the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association, the American Trucking Associations, and the Truck Rental and Leasing Association in supporting the mandate as written.
Environmental impact and public health are two of the biggest concerns for groups advocating for full application of the Phase 2 rule.
According to the Environmental Defense Fund, used engine gliders can emit almost 40 times more pollution than modern engines and that, if allowed to operate until 2025, glider vehicles would cause as many as 12,800 premature deaths.
“The health impacts are even more galling when you consider that this is essentially just a handout to one company, Fitzgerald Glider …Read the rest of this story
