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SACRAMENTO – Leading a coalition of 12 attorneys general, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has filed his strong opposition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to repeal regulations that place strict emissions standards on highly polluting "glider" trucks.
Known as the 2016 Glider Rule, the regulations mandate that most engines installed in “gliders” – new heavy-duty truck bodies outfitted with refurbished or rebuilt pre-2010 highly polluting engines – meet the same emissions standards applicable to all newly manufactured engines.
“Repealing the Glider Rule is bad for our environment, for the health of our families, and for truckers and shippers who play by the rules and operate trucks with cleaner fuel-burning engines,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is required to set and enforce motor-vehicle emissions standards. If EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt decides to neglect this legal responsibility by doing away with the Glider Rule, we are prepared to take any and all action to protect the air our children breathe and the vitality and level playing field of the trucking industry, an important sector of our economy.”
Gliders that do not comply with the 2016 Glider Rule produce 20 to 40 times more emissions of hazardous pollutants that are linked to asthma, low birth weight, infant mortality, and lung cancer.
The EPA has estimated that a single year in which it allowed 10,000 additional gliders to be produced with non-compliant engines could result in up to 1,600 premature deaths, 415,000 tons of additional nitrogen oxide emissions, and 6,800 tons of additional particulate matter emissions.
In California, and elsewhere, the rest of the trucking industry has already made substantial investments to comply with stringent emissions standards and would face an unlevel playing field if forced to continue to compete against unregulated glider manufacturers who avoid such investments.
Joining Attorney General Becerra in filing the comments last week were the attorneys general of Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington.
Known as the 2016 Glider Rule, the regulations mandate that most engines installed in “gliders” – new heavy-duty truck bodies outfitted with refurbished or rebuilt pre-2010 highly polluting engines – meet the same emissions standards applicable to all newly manufactured engines.
“Repealing the Glider Rule is bad for our environment, for the health of our families, and for truckers and shippers who play by the rules and operate trucks with cleaner fuel-burning engines,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is required to set and enforce motor-vehicle emissions standards. If EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt decides to neglect this legal responsibility by doing away with the Glider Rule, we are prepared to take any and all action to protect the air our children breathe and the vitality and level playing field of the trucking industry, an important sector of our economy.”
Gliders that do not comply with the 2016 Glider Rule produce 20 to 40 times more emissions of hazardous pollutants that are linked to asthma, low birth weight, infant mortality, and lung cancer.
The EPA has estimated that a single year in which it allowed 10,000 additional gliders to be produced with non-compliant engines could result in up to 1,600 premature deaths, 415,000 tons of additional nitrogen oxide emissions, and 6,800 tons of additional particulate matter emissions.
In California, and elsewhere, the rest of the trucking industry has already made substantial investments to comply with stringent emissions standards and would face an unlevel playing field if forced to continue to compete against unregulated glider manufacturers who avoid such investments.
Joining Attorney General Becerra in filing the comments last week were the attorneys general of Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington.
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BAY AREA, Calif. – Californians will kick off 2018 with the most expensive gas to begin a year since 2014, according to AAA, but prices are expected to fall in coming weeks as travel demand subsides after a busy holiday travel season.
At $3.10, California's average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline today is 33 cents more than drivers paid in January, 2017.
At nearly $3.23 per gallon, San Francisco residents are paying the highest prices for gas in Northern California -- 3 cents more than motorists in South Lake Tahoe, which normally tops the charts for the region.
"Last year was a historic travel season, with AAA forecasting record travel numbers for nearly every holiday, but prices historically will drop after the ball drops on New Year's Eve," said Michael Blasky, a spokesman for AAA Northern California. "Californians today are paying about 60 cents more than the national average, which AAA attributes to the state's strong economy, higher taxes on gasoline and stricter environmental regulations."
The last time Californians started a year paying more than $3 for gas was in 2014, when the average price in January of that year was $3.62. Gas prices rose above $4 that summer.
Still, January prices don't always indicate how prices will move throughout a year. Motorists in California paid just $2.55 for regular unleaded gas to begin 2015, but by May were paying above $3.70 per gallon.
Oil prices were more stable in 2017, with prices for a barrel hovering around $50 much of the year. Prices rose late in the year and began 2018 over $60 a barrel, a 2-year high.
"With global oil producers trying to scale back their production, supply could drop while demand for energy remains high," Blasky said. "If they're successful in cutting back oil production, gasoline prices will likely rise as well to meet the demand."
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