Advocacy

New Heavy-Duty Truck Standards Proposed

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a proposal for more stringent standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles beginning in model year 2027. The new standards would be applicable to heavy-duty vocational vehicles (such as delivery trucks, refuse haulers, public utility trucks, transit, shuttle, school buses, etc.) and tractors (such as day cabs and sleeper cabs on tractor-trailer trucks).

Specifically, EPA is proposing stronger CO₂ standards for model year 2027 heavy-duty vehicles that go beyond the current standards that apply under the HD Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas program that were finalized in 2016. EPA is also proposing an additional set of CO₂ standards for heavy-duty vehicles that would begin to apply in model year 2028, with progressively lower standards each model year through 2032. This proposed “Phase 3” greenhouse gas program would get progressively tougher and have 25 percent of new long-haul tractors produce zero emissions for model years 2032 and beyond. The ramp-up is slower for short-haul tractors, going from 10 percent in 2027 to 35 percent by 2032.

The SWANA Applied Research Foundation (ARF) issued a report in September 2022 assessing the viability of electricity and other alternative fuels for solid waste and recycling collection vehicles. The publication analyzes electricity, hydrogen fuel cells, compressed and renewable natural gas, and ultra-low sulfur and renewable diesel in terms of their energy usage, well-to-wheel greenhouse emissions, fuel cost, total cost, and stage of commercialization.

EPA to Consider Designating 7 New PFAS Under CERCLA

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) asking the public for input regarding potential future hazardous substance designations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as “Superfund.”

This request for input and information follows EPA’s September 2022 proposed rule to designate two PFAS—perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and their salts and structural isomers—as hazardous substances under CERCLA. EPA is currently reviewing comments received on this proposed rule. SWANA and the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) submitted comments in response to that initial proposed CERCLA designation expressing concerns that PFAS regulation under CERCLA will assign environmental cleanup liability to essential public services and their customers.

Through this ANPRM, EPA is seeking input on whether to propose to designate additional PFAS, including HFPO-DA, sometimes called GenX, and compounds that degrade in the environment by processes such as biodegradation, photolysis, and hydrolysis, to form certain PFAS. EPA is also seeking information on whether some PFAS compounds can or should be designated as a group or category.

An agency may publish an ANPRM in the Federal Register to seek input and obtain more information. If EPA decides to move forward with designating additional PFAS compounds as hazardous substances under CERCLA, the agency will publish a proposed rule and seek public comment.

SWANA will work with other solid waste industry groups to review the ANPRM and submit comments by June 12, 2023.

In March, SWANA joined other groups in a Congressional briefing to reiterate their request for Congress to grant the waste industry a narrow CERCLA exemption, saying the waste industry should be considered passive receivers of PFAS-containing material.