EPA Chief Closes Truck Loophole Left by Scott Pruitt

July 30, 2018—Andrew R. Wheeler, the acting administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has reversed the final policy act of his predecessor, Scott Pruitt, granting a loophole that would have allowed more highly polluting trucks on the nation’s roads, reported The New York Times.

Mr. Pruitt had told manufacturers that the agency would not enforce a cap on what are known as “glider” trucks—vehicles with older and less efficient engines installed, according to the report.

Glider kits are new trucks that come without an engine or transmission—the name comes from the idea that they are engineless, like gliders. Older engines are then installed, and the resulting vehicles produce as much as 55 times the amount of air pollution as trucks with modern emissions controls, reported The New York Times. 

They currently account for about 5 percent of all heavy-duty trucks on the road. The Obama administration had estimated that, left unchecked, gliders could generate a third of the truck fleet’s soot and other pollutants that contribute to smog and acid rain, and sought to limit their annual production to 300 vehicles through the end of 2019.