EPA calls for glider kits exemption from GHG rule

In an effort to undo what Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt calls a "regulatory overreach" within the Phase II Greenhouse Gas Emission and Fuel Efficiency Standards, the EPA is officially proposing a repeal of the glider emissions standards and other requirements in the heavy-duty rule. 

Because a glider is manufactured and assembled using new body parts, like the vehicle frame and cab, but with a used powertrain, the proposal says they do not fall under the category of "new motor vehicles" or "new motor vehicle engines," and therefore the EPA lacks authority to regulate them. 

“The previous administration attempted to bend the rule of law and expand the reach of the federal government in a way that threatened to put an entire industry of specialized truck manufacturers out of business,” Pruitt said in a release.

As it sits, without this proposed repeal, both trailers and gliders will be regulated under Phase 2 of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for medium and heavy duty vehicles beginning in 2018.

“In light of the significant issues raised, the agency has decided to revisit the Phase 2 trailer and glider provisions,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in an EPA release in August. “We intend to initiate a rulemaking process that incorporates the latest technical data and is wholly consistent with our authority under the Clean Air Act.”

This repeal is focused on glider vehicles, glider engines and glider kits, and does not mention trailer regulations.