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November 24, 1999 10:50 AM, EST

The organization representing U.S. truck engine manufacturers thinks the Environmental Protection Agency is making last-minute “massive changes” in an agreement regarding emissions reductions and it would like the agency to slow things down.

Early this month, the Engine Manufacturers Association in Chicago called for a 60-day extension in EPA’s 2004 Final Rulemaking process, saying that “substantial changes at this late hour eviscerates the certainty, stability and lead-time inherent in a previously agreed upon joint Statement of Principles.”

Several industry representatives made similar complaints on Nov. 2 during an EPA hearing in Philadelphia on drafting engine emissions proposals, which, in part, would codify terms of 1998 settlements with the six major engine makers over the use of “defeat devices” to pass federal emissions tests (11-8, p. 5).

The Statement of Principles — signed in July 1995 by EPA, the California Air Resources Board and the leading engine manufacturers — was an effort among key stakeholders to determine emission reductions over the next several years. It established a framework for proposed rulemaking and set out goals and conditions supported by the parties.

For the full story, see the Nov. 22 print edition of Transport Topics. .