HR 6250
Cold Weather Diesel Reliability Act of 2025
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Bill overview
This bill, the Cold Weather Diesel Reliability Act of 2025, aims to improve the reliability of diesel vehicles in cold weather conditions. It directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow manufacturers to temporarily suspend certain engine controls when temperatures are at or below zero degrees Celsius, prioritizing safety and essential transportation. The bill also proposes a year-round exemption from diesel exhaust fluid system requirements for vehicles operating in areas with prolonged freezing conditions, specifically those north of 59 degrees north latitude or facing logistical challenges with the fluid system.
Key provisions
- Authorizes manufacturers to temporarily suspend engine controls in extreme cold.
- Requires the EPA to revise regulations to allow for this suspension.
- Provides a year-round exemption from diesel exhaust fluid system requirements for vehicles operating in specific, cold regions.
- Defines ‘covered vehicle’ as on-highway and nonroad diesel equipment.
- Specifies conditions for engine return to normal operation after temperatures rise.
- Sets a timeframe for the EPA to revise regulations (180 days).
- Allows for documentation to demonstrate operation in northern latitudes.
- Addresses logistical challenges with diesel exhaust fluid in prolonged freezing conditions.
Who is affected
- Diesel vehicle manufacturers
- Commercial vehicle operators
- Emergency services personnel
- Residents of cold-weather regions
- The Environmental Protection Agency
Notable changes
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
Primary sponsor
Nicholas J. [R-AK-At Large] Begich
Cosponsor
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 6250
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to authorize manufacturers of certain vehicles to suspend engine derate or shutdown functions in prolonged cold weather conditions, and for other purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Cold Weather Diesel Reliability Act of 2025
.
Congress finds that—
in rural regions with prolonged freezing conditions, diesel exhaust fluid storage, supply, and system functionality are frequently unreliable and logistically impractical on a year-round basis;
automatic engine shutdowns and power reductions due to emissions control malfunctions in extreme cold pose serious, life-threatening risks; and
emissions safeguards under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) were never intended to jeopardize human safety or impede critical mobility.
In this Act:
The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The term covered manufacturer means the manufacturer (as defined in section 216 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7550)) of a covered vehicle or an engine of a covered vehicle.
The term covered vehicle means an on-highway diesel vehicle or nonroad diesel equipment.
the engine returns to normal emission control operation, including inducement enforcement, once ambient temperatures rise above zero degrees Centigrade; and
continued maximum engine performance when ambient temperatures are at or below zero degrees Centigrade is necessary to prevent occupational danger, equipment failure, or loss of essential transportation functionality in remote areas with limited roadside support or emergency communications access.
encounters operational or logistical conditions characterized by prolonged ambient temperatures that—
otherwise make the use of the diesel exhaust fluid system impractical.
In carrying out paragraph (1), the Administrator shall grant to a covered vehicle described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of that paragraph an exemption from any requirement to include an engine derate or shutdown function that is triggered by the absence, degradation, malfunction, or fault of a diesel exhaust fluid system, including any associated sensors or electronic control modules.
Nothing in this Act waives compliance with any emissions standard under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) outside of—
the exemption from diesel exhaust fluid system requirements under section 4(b).