{ "id": "R45286", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R45286", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 584912, "date": "2018-09-10", "retrieved": "2019-12-20T20:54:27.643685", "title": "Glider Kit, Engine, and Vehicle Regulations", "summary": "On October 25, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration jointly published the second phase of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and engines. The rule affects commercial long-haul tractor-trailers, vocational vehicles, and heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans. It phases in between model years 2018 and 2027. \nUnder the rulemaking, EPA proposed a number of changes and clarifications for standards respecting \u201cglider kits\u201d and \u201cglider vehicles.\u201d A glider kit is a chassis for a tractor-trailer with a frame, front axle, interior and exterior cab, and brakes. It becomes a glider vehicle when an engine, transmission, and rear axle are added. Engines are often salvaged from earlier model year vehicles, remanufactured, and installed in the glider kit. The final manufacturer of the glider vehicle (i.e., the entity that assembles the parts) is typically a different entity than the original manufacturer of the glider kit. Glider kits and glider vehicles are produced arguably for purposes such as allowing the reuse of relatively new powertrains from damaged vehicles. \nThe Phase 2 rule contains GHG and criteria air pollution emission standards for glider vehicles. The rule sets limits for glider vehicles similar to those for new trucks, with some exemptions. Under the rulemaking, EPA and various commentators argued that glider vehicles should be considered \u201cnew motor vehicles\u201d under the Clean Air Act (CAA) because of recent changes in the glider market. That is, in the decade leading up to the rulemaking, sales of glider vehicles increased by an order of magnitude\u2014from several hundred annually to several thousand or more. EPA and various commentators interpreted this change to be more than an attempt to replace damaged chassis, seeing it instead as an attempt by glider vehicle assemblers to circumvent various federal regulations. At the time, the older model year engines being used in glider vehicles were not required to meet current EPA emission standards for nitrogen oxide and particulate matter (which began in 2007 and took full effect in 2010). Under the Phase 2 rulemaking, EPA estimated that NOx and PM emissions from glider vehicles using pre-2002 engines (prior to exhaust aftertreatment requirements) could be 20-40 times higher than current engines.\nSubsequent to the Phase 2 rulemaking, EPA received petitions for reconsideration for, among other provisions, the glider requirements. The petitioners argued that EPA lacks the authority to regulate glider vehicles under the CAA because they could not be considered \u201cnew motor vehicles.\u201d The petitioners asserted that the benefit of a glider vehicle over a new truck is a more affordable, reliable, and fuel efficient vehicle for purchasing that requires less maintenance, yields less downtime, and yet offers a range of currently available safety features and amenities. On November 16, 2017, EPA (under Administrator Scott Pruitt) proposed to repeal the emission standards and other requirements for heavy-duty glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits. On July 26, 2018, EPA (under acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler) stated that it would \u201cmove as expeditiously as possible on a regulatory revision regarding the requirements that apply to the introduction of glider vehicles into commerce to the extent consistent with statutory requirements and due consideration of air quality impacts.\u201d A rule has not been finalized. \nSome in Congress have supported the Trump Administration\u2019s efforts to reverse the standards and provide relief to the affected glider vehicle assembler industry. However, EPA\u2019s efforts to delay and repeal the rule have prompted criticism from some trucking industry officials, state air agencies, environmentalists, and other lawmakers who fear that increasing production of glider vehicles could result in a fractured vehicle market and significantly higher in-use emissions of air pollutants associated with a host of adverse human health effects, including premature mortality.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45286", "sha1": "32a043f1d76a69e60fc216d0163086c8174d7e3f", "filename": "files/20180910_R45286_32a043f1d76a69e60fc216d0163086c8174d7e3f.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45286_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180910_R45286_images_d9ead606da42485c7211dbecad422cb704f6b91c.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45286", "sha1": "2d0f0e97902750d3490200bc04930ef587b5b5df", "filename": "files/20180910_R45286_2d0f0e97902750d3490200bc04930ef587b5b5df.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4750, "name": "Air Quality" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4781, "name": "Economic Impacts of Environmental Regulation" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4826, "name": "Highways & Highway Vehicles" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4843, "name": "Transportation Infrastructure & Vehicles" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4936, "name": "Excise & Other Taxes" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 583732, "date": "2018-08-10", "retrieved": "2018-08-13T13:04:56.500848", "title": "Glider Kit, Engine, and Vehicle Regulations", "summary": "On October 25, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration jointly published the second phase of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and engines. The Phase 2 rule affects commercial long-haul tractor-trailers, vocational vehicles, and heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans. It phases in between model years 2018 and 2027. \nUnder the rulemaking, EPA proposed a number of changes and clarifications for standards respecting \u201cglider kits\u201d and \u201cglider vehicles.\u201d A glider kit is a chassis for a tractor-trailer with a frame, front axle, interior and exterior cab, and brakes. It becomes a glider vehicle when an engine, transmission, and rear axle are added. Engines are often salvaged from earlier model year vehicles, remanufactured, and installed in the glider kit. The final manufacturer of the glider vehicle (i.e., the entity that assembles the parts) is typically a different entity than the original manufacturer of the glider kit. Glider kits and glider vehicles are produced arguably for purposes such as allowing the reuse of relatively new powertrains from damaged vehicles. \nThe Phase 2 rule contains GHG and criteria air pollution emission standards for glider vehicles. The rule sets limits for glider vehicles similar to those for new trucks, with some exemptions. Under the rulemaking, EPA and various commentators argued that glider vehicles should be considered new because the glider market had recently become distorted. In the decade leading up to the rulemaking, sales of glider vehicles increased by an order of magnitude\u2014from several hundred annually to several thousand or more. EPA and various commentators interpreted this change to be more than an attempt to replace damaged chassis, seeing it instead as an attempt by glider vehicle assemblers to circumvent various federal regulations. At the time, the older model year engines being used in glider vehicles were not required to meet current EPA emission standards for nitrogen oxide and particulate matter (which began in 2007 and took full effect in 2010), nor did they need to abide by some other federal regulations, including the Department of Transportation\u2019s requirements on electronic logging devices and electronic stability control and the Internal Revenue Service\u2019s excise taxes. With respect to pollution requirements, the Phase 2 rulemaking had estimated that NOx and PM emissions from glider vehicles using pre-2002 engines (prior to exhaust aftertreatment requirements) were 20-40 times higher than current engines.\nSubsequent to the Phase 2 rulemaking, EPA received petitions for reconsideration for, among other provisions, the glider requirements. On November 16, 2017, EPA (under Administrator Scott Pruitt) proposed to repeal the emission standards and other requirements for heavy-duty glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits, arguing that EPA lacks the authority to regulate them under the Clean Air Act. On July 26, 2018, EPA (under acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler) stated that it would \u201cmove as expeditiously as possible on a regulatory revision regarding the requirements that apply to the introduction of glider vehicles into commerce to the extent consistent with statutory requirements and due consideration of air quality impacts.\u201d A rule has not been finalized. \nSome in Congress have supported the Trump Administration\u2019s efforts to reverse the standards and provide relief to the affected glider vehicle assembler industry. However, EPA\u2019s efforts to delay and repeal the rule have prompted criticism from other trucking industry officials, some state air agencies, environmentalists, and other lawmakers who fear that increasing production of glider vehicles could result in a fractured vehicle market and significantly higher in-use emissions of air pollutants associated with a host of adverse human health effects, including premature mortality.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45286", "sha1": "c445288304a17e8344dace9ed297c5c5469cbd8a", "filename": "files/20180810_R45286_c445288304a17e8344dace9ed297c5c5469cbd8a.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45286_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180810_R45286_images_d9ead606da42485c7211dbecad422cb704f6b91c.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45286", "sha1": "c4325dd675aecde55f22c907ab5051eeb0ee3919", "filename": "files/20180810_R45286_c4325dd675aecde55f22c907ab5051eeb0ee3919.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Economic Policy", "Environmental Policy" ] }