University Pulls Back on Pollution Study That Supported Its Benefactor
The study, which concluded that pollution from glider trucks was no worse than from trucks with modern emissions controls,
was cited by Mr. Pruitt when he announced in November he would make the regulatory change requested by Ms. Black.
P.A., in a written statement Wednesday, said that Mr. Pruitt’s move to exempt the glider trucks was based on a legal determination
that the agency did not have the authority to regulate them, not the findings of the Tennessee Tech study.
did not rely upon the study or even quote directly from it,” the statement said, adding
that the agency “only noted the existence of the study,” and its findings, when Mr. Pruitt moved to exempt the glider trucks.
One of the main beneficiaries of such a change would be Fitzgerald Glider Kits of Byrdstown, Tenn., the country’s largest manufacturer
of so-called glider trucks, which are equipped with rebuilt engines that do not have modern emissions controls.
The letter from Mr. Oldham followed a separate letter on Friday from Darrell Hoy, interim dean
at Tennessee Tech’s College of Engineering, directed to faculty leaders at the university.
