EPA Denies Diesel Petitions from API, ATA, Mack/Volvo

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied three petitions Friday asking the government to reconsider a Clinton-era rule demanding cleaner diesel trucks and buses. The new diesel rule, which went into effect in March, requires a 97 percent sulfur content reduction in highway diesel fuel between 2006 and 2009, and a 95 percent nitrogen oxide emission by the 2010 model year. The American Petroleum Institute, the American Trucking Association (ATA) and Mack Trucks/Volvo Powertrain each petitioned the EPA to reconsider the rule but were denied.