Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0045

HR0045 LRB104 08098 MST 18144 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued new emissions regulations in 2010 that required diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) in diesel engines as a way to reduce emissions; and

WHEREAS, Since 2010, nonroad Tier 4 diesel exhaust fluid regulations apply to diesel engines used in off-highway applications, such as construction, agriculture, and industrial sites, adding significant costs to purchasing, maintaining, and using equipment with diesel engines; and

WHEREAS, The federal government has an obligation to ensure environmental regulations on diesel exhaust fluid are truly yielding results as intended; and

WHEREAS, To produce diesel exhaust fluid, large quantities of expensive high grade urea are used, which drives up the cost to use DEF to over $6 per gallon; and

WHEREAS, The diesel exhaust fluid industry totals more than four billion gallons per year, costing the American economy over $24 billion annually in compliance costs for the price of just the aftertreatment fluid and adds to increased costs in the supply chain; and

WHEREAS, A diesel exhaust fluid system repair on a tractor or combine can cost over $10,000, as well as create costs associated with the machine's downtime; and

WHEREAS, A diesel exhaust fluid system is complicated and has many expensive moving parts that may need to be replaced or repaired, including the tank header assembly, sensors, filters, pressure lines, pumps and injectors, and tank heaters; and

WHEREAS, The cost to produce, maintain, and run a diesel exhaust fluid system has an environmental impact that produces harmful carbon dioxide emissions; and

WHEREAS, The cost of agricultural equipment has outpaced the rate of inflation in recent years, and diesel exhaust fluid systems increase the cost of equipment; and

WHEREAS, Diesel exhaust fluid systems used in off-road applications, such as agriculture, have low mileage applications, and the DEF system may not reduce the carbon emissions that are expended in its production and transportation; and

WHEREAS, Drop-in alternatives, such as biodiesel, also make significant reductions in carbon emissions that cause global warming; and

WHEREAS, Agriculture is the State of Illinois' largest economic sector and is being impacted by regulations on diesel emissions; and

WHEREAS, The federal government has a duty to ensure that the regulations put on Americans produce the intended results and that the regulations are the least burdensome on those who must comply; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the federal government to uphold its duty to create regulations that promote both the environment as well as the agricultural industry by completing a study determining the effectiveness of the diesel exhaust fluid mandate and to determine if any lower cost alternatives could provide further reductions; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered the Speaker and Minority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives, the President and Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate, the Director of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.