Posted on 11/12/2021 11:43:43 PM PST by Libloather
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday tossed out greenhouse gas emissions rules for heavy-duty truck trailers, ruling two government agencies had exceeded their authority.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2016 set rules for the first time requiring trailer manufacturers to adopt fuel-saving technologies like side skirts and automatic tire pressure systems. An industry group challenged the rule, which was put on hold by the court pending the review.
The administration of then-President Barack Obama said it was important to regulate the fuel efficiency of the trailer portion of commercial tractor-trailers "because large tractor-trailers account for 60% of the fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from heavy-duty vehicles."
The court ruled that if it allowed the trailer regulations, then "NHTSA could regulate bike racks, rooftop cargo carriers, or anything similar that would impact the fuel efficiency of a vehicle." The court added: "NHTSA can regulate tractors based on the trailers they pull, as can the EPA. But neither NHTSA nor the EPA can regulate trailers themselves."
**SNIP**
The Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association (TTMA), which had sued to block the rules, said it was still reading the ruling and did not immediately comment. The group had argued that the rules were improper because trailers do not consume fuel, as they are not self-propelled.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Great decision. The original rules were leftist anti-trucks efforts and would have crippled the movement of goods (hint, hint, like today’s Marxist Biden rules and California port rules).
You can see that Marxist Obama tried to cripple the US economy. Now BloJo and his Obama communist advisors are following his program to the “T”.
I worked in environmental cleanup affairs for almost 30 years and Obama/Biden put forth the most economically crippling and stupid proposed rules and actual rules in modern US history.
About time that they were stopped from their “total economy control” Marxist programs.
Obama stooge Patricia Millett run over like roadkill by two Trump judges...
It is a safety issue too. Brakes run a lot hotter going down steep grades with the skirts reducing much needed extra air flow through the brake drums.
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