Editorial: More Smoke, Fire Over EPA and Engines

Now it’s official, and Congress should take note: Executives of Freightliner Corp. and its corporate parent, Daimler-Benz AG, claim that the Environmental Protection Agency gave its seal of approval to the exact engine testing strategy the agency last year used as the basis for $1 billion in fines and remedial actions against the nation’s manufacturers of diesel truck engines.

Freightliner/Daimler-Benz’s comments up the ante in the dispute that has been raging since October by putting on the record what had been whispered in recent months, namely that EPA had specifically approved the use of the electronic fuel injection controls that it later called “defeat devices.” The control modules limited NOx emissions during urban driving modes, which EPA’s test concentrated on, but maximized fuel efficiency at highway speeds, which produced excessive emissions not monitored by the testing.

In its comments to the federal judge who is reviewing the consent decrees the engine makers signed to settle the charges, Freightliner said EPA had known since 1991 what the manufacturers were doing to pass the federal test.

This claim flies in the face of statements by EPA that it didn’t find out until 1997, after which it launched the investigation that led to the $1 billion proposed settlement.

EPA’s denial came in response to statements by Volvo Truck Corp. that it had advised the agency in 1994 that the tests were flawed and should be altered.

At least one House Commerce Committee member, Rep. Tom Bliley (R-Va.), is looking into EPA’s actions regarding the engine tests. We hope that the new revelations encourage the committee to hold public hearings so we can all find out who did what, and when.

If the EPA mistakenly approved the engine makers’ strategies in 1991, and later decided it shouldn’t have, the agency should just say so.

For the full story, see the Feb. 8 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.