By Ellen KNICKMEYER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is withdrawing a last-minute order by the agency's former chief that allowed super-polluting diesel truck engines.
EPA chief Scott Pruitt issued the rule in his last days in office before resigning earlier this month amid ethics scandals. The rule allowed truck manufacturers to rig new tractor-trailer trucks with older, dirtier diesel engines. The EPA's own calculations estimated the so-called "glider trucks" would cause an extra 1,600 premature deaths yearly because of pollutants.
An EPA statement says Andrew Wheeler, the new EPA acting head, has concluded Pruitt's order was granted improperly. The statement says the agency will work with glider-truck makers to prevent "inadvertent economic harm" from the change.
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