Editorial: Diesel Engine Emissions Summit II
ith our second national industry town meeting on diesel-engine-emissions rules just two weeks away, anticipation is building that the March 16 event will yield a mother lode of important news.
It appears that the General Accounting Office’s widely anticipated report on how well the federal emissions rules were implemented in 2002 will be released right before our Diesel Engine Emissions Summit II opens in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The summit will also feature top officials from GAO and the Environmental Protection Agency, which was responsible for creating and implementing those rules, as well as new ones the industry will be facing in 2007 and 2010.
There is widespread expectation that the report will criticize aspects of EPA’s actions in implementing its rules, and recommend changes before the next round.
The summit is designed to review both the impact the 2002 changes have had on the trucking industry and how well things are shaping up for changes that will come when the other EPA regulations take effect in coming years.
The 2007 and 2010 changes will also necessitate new generations of heavy-duty diesel engines.
Several manufacturing companies that supply trucking fleets have indicated they intend to take advantage of the summit to deliver news to the industry leaders.
And, if the first summit in Phoenix is any guide, several of the participants at the Florida meeting could very well make headlines of their own.
Speakers at the summit will include EPA Administrator Michael Leavitt, plus representatives of many of the major suppliers to the trucking industry.
Attendees are expected to hear status reports on how the new engines are performing and what oil and lubricant makers have learned to help them create products to address the needs of the new engines.
All five major U.S. engine suppliers are expected to review their technology choices for 2007, as well as to give report cards on how their 2002 models have performed.
All in all, we’re looking forward to this get-together, to compare notes on the past year and find out how we’re all preparing for the next chapter.
Hope to see you in Fort Lauderdale.
This story appeared in the March 1 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
