PRESIDENT OBAMA REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO IMPROVE TRUCK FUEL EFFICIENCY

This week, President Obama laid out additional details for his plan to improve fuel efficiency and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from medium and heavy duty trucks. Speaking at a Safeway distribution center in Maryland, the President instructed the U.S. EPA and the U.S. DOT to work closely with industry and other stakeholders on the next round of standards for trucks, known commonly as “Phase II.” Phase II builds on the 2011 joint rulemaking between EPA and NHTSA that set first-ever fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for medium and heavy duty trucks for model years 2014– 2018. Under Obama’s latest timeline, the agencies are expected to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by March 2015 and issue a Final Rule by March 2016.

While not his primary message, President Obama took the opportunity to call for alt fuel vehicle and fueling station tax credits. Near the end of his address the President said: “So to help our businesses and manufacturers meet this new goal, we’re offering new tax credits — both for companies that manufacture heavy-duty alternative-fuel vehicles and those that build fuel infrastructure so that trucks running on biodiesel or natural gas or hybrid electric technology, they’ll have more places to fill up.”

A White House Fact Sheet on the President’s actions can be found here.