White House Rejects Hastert-Led Plea to Delay Engine Rule

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The White House Wednesday turned down a request by Speaker of the House Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) to delay the implementation of tougher diesel-emissions rules slated to take effect Oct. 1, the Washington Post reported.

Hastert had led a contingent of House members seeking White House intervention after Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman told them the administration would continue with its plans to implement the rule that would sharply reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides emissions diesel engines could emit, the Post said.

The rule is part of a series of consent decrees signed by engine makers in 1998, setting a deadline of Oct. 1. The agreements settled some allegations by the government that companies had evaded previous emissions standards by installing devices that turned off pollution controls while their trucks were on the road, but left them on for EPA certification tests, the Post said.

Since then, some engine makers have said that they cannot meet the deadline and implementing the rules in October would seriously hurt the industry. Many trucking companies and the American Trucking Associations have also said that implementation of the Oct. 1 standards would have a negative effect on the trucking industry because the engines have not been properly road-tested, are more expensive to operate and possibly not as durable as engines currently in service.

Environmental and health groups, including the American Lung Association, wrote a letter to President Bush urging him to hold engine makers accountable for what they called a "decade of corporate irresponsibility that continues to impact public health," the Post said. The White House cited that letter as a factor in its decision.

At least two engine makers – Detroit Diesel Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. – are facing millions of dollars in fines for failing to meet the EPA deadline for having an engine model certified to meet the Oct. 1 standards, the Post said. Caterpillar, based in Hastert’s home state of Illinois, drew the speaker into the fray hoping to use his influence to get the deadline pushed back, the Post reported. A spokesman for Hastert said that Caterpillar was an important company to both the economy of Illinois and the country and that Hastert and the other lawmakers were trying to get some "common-sense regulation."

John Graham, administrator for the office of information and regulatory affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, said the White House agreed with EPA and Justice Department officials who said the new rule was necessary to protect public health and that Caterpillar is exaggerating the possible economic impact of the rule, the Post reported.

Two other companies, Cummins Inc. and Mack Trucks Inc., have both developed engines that have been certified by the EPA as meeting the new standards.

An official with the Justice Department told the Post that "a deal's a deal," and companies that can’t meet the Oct. 1 deadline will have to face the consequences.

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