Schaeffer: Industry is studying the details, which are always the most important part. Final comments are due August twenty-ninth. By the end of the year, EPA will hopefully render a final opinion so manufacturers will have trucks ready to roll come January twenty twenty-seven. We know a number of manufacturers have already announced they have twenty twenty-seven compliant products available for order and delivery starting in January. Folks will be able to get current generation trucks, and hopefully those trucks will have more flexibility built into the systems.
Schaeffer: One of the biggest complaints we’ve heard over the last year is that if a truck has a faulty diesel exhaust fluid sensor or something else, regulations today require manufacturers to warn the driver. If they don’t take action, the vehicle will lose power and only be able to go five miles an hour. The new EPA proposal will extend the number of miles and hours until something like that happens. Ultimately, they’re going to take away engine derating altogether, at least in the proposal. Instead of engines slowing down to twenty-five miles an hour, you’ll get a series of warnings and buzzers that will compel you to take action and fix your system.
Reid: I think that last piece for fuels retailers who dispense diesel exhaust fluid is probably the more critical one. It doesn’t eliminate the requirement that you use DEF. The derating issue dramatically reduces performance until you can fix the situation. I believe that also includes not putting DEF in your system. It’ll trigger not just a sensor failure but moving away from it. Am I correct that you’re not going to be able to ignore DEF moving forward?
Schaeffer: Absolutely. One thing we want to emphasize, and we’ve heard this from every manufacturer, is that catalytic reduction using diesel exhaust fluid is still the best option we have for reducing NOx emissions down to eighty percent lower than today. There’s not a better mousetrap. Key to making that work is diesel exhaust fluid. We’ve had great success over the last fifteen years since DEF has been around. It’s widely available, easy to get and easy to use. Folks just have to use it.
Schaeffer: While this rule gives more flexibility, it still compels folks to continue using diesel exhaust fluid. Everybody wants to contribute to cleaner air. Truckers think a lot about the environment when they’re operating. Operating a truck without diesel exhaust fluid could have serious implications, including component failures and engine failures that cost a lot more to address than refilling the DEF tank.
Reid: Right.
Schaeffer: Word to the wise, DEF is here to stay.
Reid: Of all the emissions changes I’ve watched over the decades, ultra-low sulfur diesel was the one most fraught with concern that turned out not to be a concern. Getting the sulfur out, could the industry do it, how would you keep contamination out? I was one of the Chicken Littles at the time. But when it came around, the transition occurred. That was the two thousand seven timeline. It occurred, it’s here and I think it’s been one of the most positive impacts on air quality of anything out there.
Reid: It’s turned around diesel’s environmental footprint considerably. Not just in a kumbaya way but in a real-world way. You’re in a city or the LA Basin trying to breathe. It works. It’s been exceptional.
Schaeffer: A huge success story. Everybody’s been part of that. The fuel sector and engine manufacturers worked together to get that out there. Now it’s our standard. We have one of the highest quality fuels industries in the world and high quality petroleum and renewable fuels. Engines appreciate having clean, high quality fuels. It makes everything better.
