Navistar, EPA settle SCR suits

Public workshop part of agreement

Navistar International Corp. reached an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that settled lawsuits it filed in March 2009 concerning the agency’s certification policies for diesel-powered trucks equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR). The May 3 agreement called for EPA to hold a public workshop or hearing to address the issues Navistar raised in its challenges before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The settlement came a week before the parties were set to square off May 10 in oral arguments before a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court.

Navistar is using advanced exhaust gas recirculation to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 emissions standards.

Navistar had argued that EPA’s guidance documents for SCR implementation were invalid because the agency had adopted them without the required public process and had relied only on input from the SCR engine makers. Navistar contended that EPA’s guidance would allow SCR-equipped trucks to operate for extended periods without any control of NOx emissions, resulting in certification of SCR engines as meeting NOx emissions requirements when they do not.

On May 3, Navistar and EPA filed an emergency joint motion to cancel the May 10 oral arguments and hold the case in abeyance pending approval of the settlement by the Justice Department and public comment on the settlement in principle, which is required by the Clean Air Act. The settlement affects two related lawsuits, one directed at the February 2009 guidance memorandum to SCR engine makers and the other addressing issues related to EPA’s 2001 rule setting NOx standards.

According to Navistar, the agreement provides that EPA will “engage in a public process to reexamine its policies, for future 2011 and later model year engines” during which it will “provide a thorough review of EPA’s policies regarding operation of SCR-equipped engines.” EPA also has promised to “ensure, among other things, that SCR-equipped heavy-duty diesel engines are designed to properly control emissions as required under applicable regulations.”

Navistar looks forward to participating in the public process, said Jack Allen, president of Navistar’s North American Truck Group. “We believe that with full and open public participation, EPA will develop a new approach that will result in equal enforcement of the 2010 NOx requirements for all engine makers.” The EPA settlement mirrored one struck in late April with the California Air Resources Board. (See “Navistar drops suit against CARB,” CCJ May 2010.)

Navistar’s own MaxxForce DT midrange diesel engines and its MaxxForce 13 big bore diesel engines received EPA certification for model year 2010 earlier this year. The company is using advanced exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) to meet EPA’s 2010 emissions standards.

– Avery Vise

In brief

* Navistar Inc. reached a long-term supply agreement with J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. to supply the Lowell, Ark.-based company with more than 5,000 commercial trucks through 2014. Navistar will deliver International ProStar+ sleepers and day cabs powered by 2010 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-certified MaxxForce 13 big bore engines.

* Penske Truck Leasing ordered 750 Freightliner Cascadia and 600 Volvo VN670 tractors equipped with selective catalytic reduction technology to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 emissions regulations.

* Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems and Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake offered legislators and government agencies the opportunity to experience Bendix’s safety technologies firsthand in Washington, D.C.

* Hendrickson Truck Suspension Systems’ Steertek fabricated front steer axle now comes with a standard 10-year 1-million-mile limited warranty that covers Steertek axles equipped on approved vehicles built after Jan. 1.