A trucker has warned that the Biden administration’s latest emissions rules could cripple America’s food supply.
Announced in January and officially enacted in March, the new emissions rules “are significantly more stringent and … cover a wider range of heavy-duty engine operating conditions compared to today’s standard,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The problem, according to truckers like JKC Trucking co-owner Mike Kucharski, is that the new rules could bankrupt truckers and thus destroy America’s supply chain.
Appearing on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” this Friday, he explained that the “regulations are not practical and impossible for five reasons,” including the fact that “the costs are astronomical” and “truckers will not be able to afford these things.”
“A new clean diesel long haul tractor typically costs in the range of $180,000 to $200,000. A comparable battery electric tractor costs upwards of $480,000. That’s about a $300,000 upcharge, [which] is cost prohibitive for the overwhelming majority of motor carriers,” he said in a separate statement to Fox News.
Note that Kucharski didn’t say this as some sort of conservative activist. He said it as a trucker — one who, in fact, generally supports green energy.
“This mandate is based on brand-new technology, No. 1, and they’re supporting green energy [above the economy]. I support green energy, but it’s extremely frustrating because it’s this new mandate that they are forcing … truckers are nonstop overregulated,” he said.
Keep in mind that the majority of truckers are small business owners.
“More than 95% of the trucking companies that make up the industry are small businesses operating about ten or fewer trucks. … [Kucharski]Â believes that by complying with the EPA’s clean energy mandates, many small trucking companies will be pushed out of the business, tightening trucking capacity nationwide and causing severe price inflation ‘worse than we have right now,’ which will be passed down to consumers,” Fox News notes.
Todd Spencer, the president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, concurred, describing the new rules as a “regulatory blitz on small-business truckers.”
“This newest announcement is a blatant attempt to force consumers into purchasing electric vehicles while a national charging infrastructure network remains absent for heavy-duty commercial trucks. Professional drivers are skeptical of electric vehicle costs, mileage range, battery weight and safety, charging time and availability,” he said.
“It’s baffling that the EPA is pushing forward with more impractical emissions timelines without first addressing these overwhelming concerns with electric commercial motor vehicles. The pursuit of this radical environmental agenda in conjunction with an anticipated speed limiter mandate will regulate the safest and most experienced truckers off the road,” he added.
Note that Democrats support the new rules:
I was proud to join my colleagues in the House and Senate in urging the @EPA to implement the strongest emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks. The transportation sector is the US’ largest source of pollution, meaning stronger standards and cleaner vehicles are critical! pic.twitter.com/j5mafAVdBK
— Rep. Mike Levin (@RepMikeLevin) September 10, 2023
Kucharski further argued that the green technology that the Biden administration wants truckers to embrace simply isn’t practical for the average trucker right now.
“These regulations are not practical. No. 1, costs, two, infrastructure — we’re not ready for the infrastructure. Three, the testing and data — they’re just doing the testing on these trucks right now. I really haven’t even driven an electric truck or seen one in person,” he said.
Individual truckers aren’t the only ones who feel this way. So does GM. In July, General Motors warned that it might have difficulty meeting the requirements of the new rules.
In comments submitted to the EPA in July, the company warned that the rules, in addition to several other state/federal regulations, “could require each automaker to exceed 50% EVs in at least a dozen vehicle averaging sets in the approximate 2030 timeframe.”
The company added that it is “concerned that either a potential lack of clarity or a lack of coordination across the agencies may hinder an automaker’s ability to remain in compliance, year-after-year, across each of these regulatory programs even while meeting EPA’s overall EV targets.”
Truckers outrage over stricter EPA rules pic.twitter.com/Gl3fItK9wa
— Ultra Pepe Lives Matter (@pepemqtter1) September 8, 2023
Later that month, GM executive David Strickland met with White House Office of Management and Budget officials, according to Reuters.
“At the meeting, GM estimated the auto industry as a whole could face $100 billion to $300 billion in total penalties — or $1,300 to $4,300 per vehicle — from 2027 to 2031 depending on whether an Energy Department proposal to revise the petroleum-equivalent fuel economy rating for electric vehicles (EV) is enacted,” Reuters notes.
However, though not surprisingly, the Biden administration decided to reflexively dismiss all of their concerns.
“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which oversees Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations, said late on Thursday GM’s ‘estimate is pure speculation and inaccurate,'” Reuters reported.
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