Navistar, the large local employer and national manufacturer of large trucks, hasn’t suddenly turned into an environmental crusader — in this case, its profits seem to be tied to the health of the ecosystem.
After bringing the issue to the EPA’s attention months ago, Navistar finally decided to sue.
“It’s about a level playing field,” said Karen Denning, Navistar’s chief spokesperson.
Ever since 2001, when the EPA issued limits for nitrogen oxides, diesel truck companies have been designing solutions to meet the EPA’s 2010 deadline. Now that model year 2010 trucks are being delivered, Navistar is heralding an environmental crisis. Court documents obtained by the News-Sun shed light on the situation.
The company chose one route to deal with the emissions requirements, and virtually all its competitors chose another route. The system the competitors chose requires truck drivers to monitor the levels of a new emission-control fluid, and refill the reservoir when it gets low. Navistar’s system has its disadvantages, but it doesn’t require any input from the driver.
What happens when a driver doesn’t keep the new fluid topped off?
Navistar, a contractor it hired, and the California Air Resources Board all agree: nitrogen oxide emissions skyrocket, rendering the EPA rule “irrelevant” altogether, Navistar’s suit stated.
The EPA did not return calls for comment.
Forgetting or refusing to fill this fluid is one problem, but emissions also pass the EPA’s limit if drivers substitute in water, or if the fluid freezes, or if the exhaust cools, like in stop-and-go traffic.
Some fluid-based systems disable a truck’s functionality when a driver neglects the responsibility. However, online message boards abound with descriptions of how to evade the systems.
Navistar’s suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the EPA has certified the competitors’ systems without checking whether the systems work in the above list of situations.
John Paul said regulating heavy-duty diesel engines is a kind of final frontier when it comes to controlling air pollution.
“EPA has done a good job with most mobile sources, but mostly it’s light vehicles — cars and trucks,” Paul said. “The remaining big area to crack here are the heavy diesel engines.”
Paul is director of the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency, the body tasked with keeping the air in the Miami Valley safe.
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