Oregon environmental regulators approved permanent rules for medium-to-heavy duty trucks — but it’s not clear if truck manufacturers will ever have to follow them.

The federal government moved to revoke the stricter standards earlier this year, which is being legally challenged by 10 states, including Oregon.

Some in the trucking industry say Oregon currently has no authority to enforce the rules — and those rules are based on technology that needs more time to develop.

On Thursday, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s commission unanimously approved new Clean Trucks Rules. The rules aim to lower greenhouse gas emissions and harmful air pollutants from the transportation sector.

According to DEQ, the transportation sector accounts for 35% of the state’s overall greenhouse gas emissions. It’s one of the fastest growing sources of those emissions in the state.

But the adopted rules create more uncertainty and frustration for the trucking industry, especially for big rigs.

Oregon Trucking Associations President Jana Jarvis said she was confused by the Environmental Quality Commission’s decision, “since the Environmental Protection Agency has disapproved those waivers, so Oregon has no authority to adopt or enforce them.”

Jarvis previously told OPB electric trucks are currently not meeting industry needs.

The trucking industry says battery technology for bigger trucks needs to improve to handle heavy loads and long distances so drivers don’t have to frequently stop to charge.

There also need to be more public charging stations available to help keep these vehicles on the road and for longer, the industry says. There is currently one public charger in Oregon, located in Portland.

Oregon is one of 11 states that have opted to adopt stricter standards for medium-to-heavy duty trucks through federal Clean Air Act waivers.

Under that law’s waiver provision, each state must adopt and follow the same rules as California when implementing stricter rules than the federal government requires.

Oregon first opted to adopt the rules in 2021 and has since adjusted the rules to align with California. But earlier this year, the Trump administration revoked the rules by blocking California’s waivers through the Congressional Review Act.

Oregon and other states filed a lawsuit to reverse the administration’s decision.

During Thursday’s Environmental Quality Commission meeting, DEQ’s transportation strategy section manager Rachel Sakata said the revoked waivers and the legal challenges have created uncertainty.

“While the outcome of that challenge and the timing of any final report decision are unclear, this uncertainty has led to changes that you will see reflected in our current proposal,” she said.

Oregon slowed enforcement of its clean truck rules. Now federal Republicans could axe the rules entirely

Those changes include delaying enforcement for the Advanced Clean Trucks rules for the first two years of the program.

Under these rules, truck manufacturers are required to make zero-emissions electric vehicles a growing percentage of their sales of medium-to-heavy-duty vehicles, like large pick-up trucks, buses and 18-wheelers, starting with the 2025 model year.

The rules would gradually limit the sale of diesel engine heavy duty trucks, depending on class size, but would not implement a complete ban on the sales of these vehicles.

The delayed enforcement will allow truck manufacturers to have more time to meet the zero emissions sales percentage requirements, and manufacturers will not be penalized if they do not meet them.

Under the Heavy-Duty Low NOx Omnibus Rule, truck engine manufacturers are required to meet tougher emission standards for particulate matter and for nitrogen oxides pollution, which are the result of combustion of fossil fuels in vehicles.

Those rules are now delayed until 2027.

“I think this is the pragmatic approach even if it’s not the preferred approach and so I am going to support this. I think it’s the right work, right approach,” Commission Chair Matt Donegan said.

Last year, the commission adopted temporary rules that led Portland-based Daimler Truck North America to halt sales in the state of Oregon after a miscommunication on how the company could receive credits for electric truck sales.

Daimler is one of the world’s largest commercial truck manufacturers. In January, Daimler resumed sales, but the industry still called for a delay to the rules.

Oregon’s proposed clean truck rules give manufacturers an off ramp from sale requirements

According to DEQ’s Sakata, California is currently looking at several options as it determines how to move forward after Trump revoked its waivers, if legal challenges fail. It could start another rule making process, or could develop other strategies to lower greenhouse gas emissions while advancing zero-emission vehicles.

Sakata also said the EPA may also make some changes.

“We’ve heard that the EPA is looking at reconsidering the emission standards for the medium-heavy-duty sector,” she said. “Any rule proposal would have to go through public comment and it usually takes a few years. So we don’t know where they are with that at this point, but they’ve announced that that’s their intent.”

DEQ said if California’s waivers continue to stand pending litigation results, then the agency’s decision to adopt permanent rules will be ready to implement.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/11/oregon-adopts-clean-trucks-rules/