The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)will hold public hearings on Nov. 15 and Nov. 18 for the joint proposed rules, “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles,” which will be published in the near future in the Federal Register.
The November 15 hearing will be held at 11 a.m. CST at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago, 163 East Walton Place (at N. Michigan Ave.), Chicago, Illinois 60611. The November 18 hearing will be held at 11 a.m. EST at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge, 575 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4896.
The purpose of the public hearings is to provide the public an opportunity to present oral comments regarding NHTSA and EPA's proposal. These hearings also offer an opportunity for the public to provide oral comments regarding NHTSA's draft Environmental Impact Statement, accompanying the proposed NHTSA fuel efficiency standards.
The proposed rules would establish a comprehensive Heavy-Duty National Program that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase fuel efficiency for on-road heavy-duty vehicles. NHTSA's proposed fuel consumption standards and EPA's proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions standards would be tailored to each of three regulatory categories: (1) Combination Tractors; (2) Heavy-duty Pickup Trucks and Vans; and (3) Vocational Vehicles, as well as gasoline and diesel heavy-duty engines.
PA's proposed hydrofluorocarbon emissions standards would apply to air conditioning systems in tractors, pickup trucks, and vans, and EPA's proposed nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions standards would apply to all heavy- duty engines, pickup trucks, and vans. The proposal also includes a request for comment on possible alternative CO2-equivalent approaches for light-duty vehicles in model years 2012-14.