According to year-end numbers released by the Environmental Protection Agency, the total volume of nearly 1.1 billion gallons is a record for the industry. The number exceeded the 800-million-gallon target required by the EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard. The previous record for biodiesel production was about 690 million gallons in 2008.

The industry’s success in 2011 comes after Congress reinstated the fuel’s $1-per-gallon tax credit in December 2010 and as the EPA’s RFS program for biodiesel completed its first full year. Without those policies in place in 2010, production dropped dramatically as dozens of plants shuttered and thousands of people lost jobs.

The tax incentive expired on Dec. 31, 2011, and the biodiesel industry is urging Congress to reinstate it. In addition, the industry is calling on the EPA and the Obama administration to finalize the EPA’s proposal to boost the biodiesel volume requirement under the RFS to 1.28 billion gallons in 2013.

“Our success clearly demonstrates that the biodiesel tax incentive and the Renewable Fuel Standard are working just as Congress envisioned,” says Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs for the National Biodiesel Board. “Our industry is creating jobs, reducing our dependence on imported fuel, and improving the environment.”

A recent economic study commissioned by NBB found that biodiesel production of 1 billion gallons supports 39,027 jobs across the country and more than $2.1 billion in household income. An additional 11,698 jobs could be added between 2012 and 2013 alone under continued growth in the RFS and with an extension of the biodiesel tax incentive.

“Now is not the time to be second-guessing the RFS or eliminating the biodiesel tax incentive,” Steckel says. “We’re proving that the policies work, that American innovation and competitiveness can pull us away from our dangerous dependence on imported fuel. Just as President Obama said in his State of the Union this week, we need to stay the course to continue creating jobs and building America’s energy capacity.”

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New Federal Fuel Efficiency Standards Announced for Tractor-Trailers

In two years, buses, medium- and heavy-duty trucks will be required to meet federally mandated fuel efficiency rules designed to reduce the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions they produce.

Developed jointly by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with input from the trucking industry, environmental groups, and state governments – especially California – the standards go into effect in stages between 2014 and 2018 and impose different fuel efficiency targets based on the size and weight of the vehicle involved.

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WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is changing the designation for trucks and trailers from “SmartWay Certified” to “SmartWay Designated.”

The agency says this will help distinguish top-performing vehicles that meet SmartWay specifications from vehicles simply certified to meet EPA regulatory requirements.

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Navistar Claims SCR Technology Does Little to Protect Environment

Navistar has filed another suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, signaling the latest round in the ongoing battle between the exhaust gas recirculation-only engine manufacturer and its competitors, all of which are using selective catalytic reduction technology to meet 2010 diesel exhaust emissions regulations. Navistar opted to use in-cylinder EGR technology to meet the current standards in conjunction with banked EPA credits for meeting and beating pre-existing emissions regulations in effect prior to the 2010 regulations.

Navistar alleges in the suit filed July 5 with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that the truck maker, a contractor it hired and the California Air Resources Board all say nitrogen oxide emissions skyrocket when drivers don’t keep diesel exhaust fluid topped off, rendering EPA’s SCR rule “irrelevant” altogether.

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New EPA SmartWay Initiative Targets Cleaning Up Port Drayage Trucks

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a SmartWay dray-truck initiative that it says will help clean up exhaust emissions at port facilities across the country. EPA has been joined by the Coalition for Responsible Transportation and the Environmental Defense Fund in the initiative.

Under the dray truck initiative, carriers would sign an agreement with EPA promising to track and reduce particulate-matter emissions by 50% and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions by 25% below the industry average over a three-year period. In turn, SmartWay dray-carriage partners would commit to using the cleaner trucks to haul 75% or more of port freight.

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Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published in the Federal Register its joint notice of proposed rulemaking for “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium and
Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles.”

The rulemaking stems from a Congressional mandate issued in 2007 and by an Executive Order issued by President Obama earlier this year. Public comments on the proposal are due to the agencies no later than January 31st.

The so-called GHG-MPG rule was crafted jointly by EPA and NHTSA using a “tiered” design to cover three distinct vehicle categories: (1) heavy trucks and tractor-trailers; (2) heavy-duty pickups and vans; and (3) and vocational vehicles.
For tractor-trailers, the proposed engine and vehicle standards begin in the 2014 model year and establish a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions and fuel consumption by the 2018 model year.

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For many in trucking, EPA’s SmartWay is becoming a fact of life. But dairy fleets, which can run the gamut from single-truck operations to thousands of vehicles, represent just a small portion of SmartWay fleets. That is beginning to change, however.

The E-Smart (Environmentally Sustainable Methods for Achieving Responsible Transportation) initiative launched by Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy has become a clearinghouse of sorts for dairy fleets of all sizes to gather information about SmartWay and other best practices to make their operations more environmentally sound.

“The overall character and purpose of E-Smart was to encourage dairy fleets to [participate] in SmartWay,” David Crowley, senior environmental health & safety director of HP Hood, told Fleet Owner.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, July 22, awarded $5.6 million for emerging technologies projects as part of a summer-long roll out of $120 million in clean diesel grants. The awards will provide opportunities to advance cutting-edge technologies in the marketplace, and support both environmental innovation and green jobs to reduce diesel emissions.

“We’re playing to America’s strengths of ingenuity and invention to improve the future of our economy, our health and our environment,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.”

Most clean diesel grants involve widely used strategies such as retrofits or replacements. However, the emerging technologies program promotes deployment of innovative approaches that have not yet been verified or certified by EPA or the California Air Resources Board. Instead, the program enables evaluation of these promising technologies in the field.

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NGVAmerica recently applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposal to streamline the process for certifying natural gas vehicle aftermarket conversions as “one of the most important steps government can take to expand the use of non-petroleum fuels.” The organization has supported the existing requirements, but contended that they are unduly restrictive when it comes to aftermarket conversions.

“We commend EPA for recognizing that its regulations as currently written are not a good fit for aftermarket conversions,” said Jeff Clarke, general counsel and director of regulatory affairs for NGVAmerica, in an oral statement made during a hearing on the agency’s proposed rule changes. “It has been a long time in coming and is welcomed.

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The Senate narrowly defeated a motion that would have denied the Environmental Protection Agency the ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, the Associated Press reported.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) resolution, defeated by a 53-47 voice vote late Thursday, would have denied EPA authority to move ahead with new rules aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

She said here her intent was to protect the authority of Congress, not the interests of the oil industry, AP reported.

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