Your May 27 editorial about the Environmental Protection Agency’s excessive regulations during the pre-Trump era prompted me to lay out for you this story about EPA’s horrendous abuse of diesel engines (OGJ, May 27, 2019, p. 16).
Until rather recently, diesel engines had been awesome performers in trucks of all sizes, from pickups to long distance haulers of freight. Fuel was much cheaper than gasoline, the miles-per-gallon was excellent, torque was high, and the engines were simple to operate and maintain. Thanks to EPA, the opposite is now true.
Because I live just 1 mile from the EPA automotive emissions testing lab in Ann Arbor, Mich., I had the chance to see first-hand their efforts to deal with diesel emissions. I was appalled at seeing their enormously complicated system for dealing with the gaseous emissions and soot. Had they not tried to eliminate every molecule or particle from the exhaust, the results might not have been so horrible. It’s a case of “the perfect being the enemy of the good.”
Many truck owners have related horror stories to me of problems with their diesels: engines that won’t run, engines that shut down on the highway, computer controls that can’t be fixed (even by the manufacturer), repair costs up to $20,000, and, of course, the very high cost of today’s diesel fuel. Articles about diesel problems can be found through Google.
The wonder to me is that truck drivers and diesel manufacturers have not come together to challenge EPA’s draconian and costly system for diesel engines. Because President Trump has shown his disdain for excessive regulations, perhaps the time is now to do this.
David L. Sponseller
President, OMNI Metals Laboratory Inc.
Ann Arbor, Mich.