(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) The Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule on Thursday, imposing stricter emissions standards on freight trucks and other heavy duty vehicles.
The new regulations mandate that large trucks, delivery vans and buses manufactured after 2027 cut nitrogen dioxide emissions by 50% in less than 20 years.
According to the Daily Caller, this new rule is 80% stricter than the former regulations.
The EPA released a statement clarifying that their rule is supposed to help phase out diesel vehicles and push greater use of electric powered vehicles.
Experts in the field believe that the trucking industry is not ready to transition to electric vehicles, and the rules could quash small companies in the industry and cause massive problems for the country’s supply chain.
“It’s an overreach that is indicative of this administration’s tendency to set aside balance to achieve the goals of activists that they are politically aligned with,” said Mandy Gunasekara, former EPA Chief of Staff during the Trump administration.
“It’s going to squeeze out the mid-sized and smaller trucking companies because they’re not going to be able to afford to purchase the new, extremely expensive equipment required to continue to do what they do,” she added.
Despite the negative impacts on small trucking companies, the EPA claims that the restricted emissions will protect “historically overburdened communities,” who are more affected by emissions due to living closer to truck freight routes.
“If small business truckers can’t afford the new, compliant trucks, they’re going to stay with older, less efficient trucks or leave the industry entirely,” Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer said in an interview. “Once again, EPA has largely ignored the warnings and concerns raised by truckers in this latest rule.”
Some experts claim that the EPA’s targets are a “technological fantasy,” and would instead cost thousands of truckers their jobs and small businesses.
The EPA said the new rule will result in fewer deaths, fewer cases of childhood asthma and fewer hospital admissions.
They also anticipate a greater economic benefit due to fewer missed work days.
The Biden administration has been making it difficult for truckers to do their jobs with vaccine mandates, strict supply chain regulations and attempts to force “green” policies in accordance with their political agenda.
 The Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule on Thursday, imposing stricter emissions standards on freight trucks and other heavy duty vehicles.){kind=link}