The Campaign sees great opportunities for progress in cleaning up diesel pollution within the context of the federal Climate debate, the effort to reauthorize the federal transportation bill, with jobs bills, and through pending regulatory deadlines under the Clean Air Act for reducing deadly particulate matter pollution.
Regulation
"Credit for Clunkers": A Clean Truck Initiative
Diesel pollution from large trucks is almost impossible to regulate on a state-by-state basis. By now, EPA’s new engine emission standards and the California Diesel Risk Reduction Plan were to have made significant progress towards replacing the nation’s fleet of older, dirtier trucks with new, cleaner ones. Due to the economic slowdown, new truck sales have stalled and California has suspended its program. To jumpstart fleet turnover, CATF supports the use of federally backed, low-interest loans to help trucking firms trade in their older, dirtier trucks for newer trucks that include a particulate filter and a SmartWay fuel economy kit. With low cost loans and the fuel economy savings from the SmartWay kit, truckers can lower their overall monthly expenses and fuel use while emitting significantly less particulate pollution. We are working with EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation to create such an innovative financing program that will provide “Credit for Clunkers” to clean up the nation’s tractor-trailer trucks.
In addition, EPA can issue regulations requiring large truck engine retrofits whenever those engines are routinely rebuilt. The Campaign is pressing EPA to initiate a rulemaking to create these new requirements, also known as a Clean Engine Rebuild Rule. We seek the retrofit of nearly 1 million trucks over the next 10 years—trucks that consume the lion’s share of diesel fuel and therefore generate the majority of on-road pollution. An initiative to address these dirty trucks could yield the same climate benefits as permanently eliminating the emissions from 21 million cars. Such a rule represents EPA’s only current statutory authority to require reductions in black carbon emissions from the nation’s in-use diesel fleet.
CATF is helping our partner organizations publicize the problem of dirty tractor-trailer and other large trucks that roll through their communities and leave a cloud of black smoke and toxic emissions in their wake. In building support for a federal rule, we have highlighted the risk to drivers as well, given the indisputable evidence regarding emission levels in truck cabs. News clips demonstrating truck pollution on the highways, and technical fixes, can be viewed at our Diesel Videos page.
Legislation
Clean Construction Provision in the Transportation Bill
Projects paid for with public money should not harm public health. The Transportation Bill reauthorization will allocate billions of dollars in federal funds for transportation infrastructure projects over the next five years. The Campaign is pushing legislators to include a Clean Construction provision in the Transportation Bill reauthorization, which would require and fund the use of “clean diesel” construction equipment on federally funded transportation projects. This provision would require and fund the installation of modern pollution controls on diesel construction equipment that do not meet new engine standards. Implementation of this provision over the next five years is an opportunity to clean up a substantial portion of the nation’s construction fleet—more than 1.5 million pieces of equipment, most of which currently lack modern pollution controls. According to the EPA, more than 37% of land-based particulate pollution comes from off-road sources, including construction equipment.
This concept is supported by environmental and industry groups alike. CATF and the Associated General Contractors (AGC) have jointly developed and agreed upon a set of Clean Construction Principles, also explained in a recent news release.
Clean Construction requirements already exist in New York, Illinois (Cook Co.), and Rhode Island (Providence), with many more in process. All levels of government are beginning to respond to the simple concept that government-funded projects should not make people sick.
Climate Legislation
Black carbon is now known to be a major climate-forcing agent, and is considered a key element of the climate change strategy debate, due in part to CATF’s research and advocacy work over the last year. Recognizing the climate implications of diesel pollution, the Campaign is pushing for the inclusion of diesel clean-up policy in any comprehensive climate strategy bill adopted by the House and Senate. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore have already called for international black carbon reductions. The U.S. emits the most black carbon per capita, and more than 57% of these emissions are attributable to diesel engines. Black Carbon emissions can be greatly reduced with the installation of tailpipe filters on existing diesel engines.
The Waxman-Markey climate bill that passed the House in 2009 includes a diesel black carbon study provision as well as direction to EPA to use its existing authority to regulate black carbon (e.g., the “clean engine” rule). The Senate version of the bill which passed the Environment and Public Works Committee included significant funding for diesel clean up. Simultaneously, we are supporting state partners to include black carbon diesel reduction policies in climate policies being developed for their states and cities.
DERA
DERA was originally passed in 2005 with broad bipartisan support to fund local retrofit projects at up to $1 billion over five years. But Congress has consistently failed to appropriate funds at anything close to that level. While DERA has paid for state diesel retrofit programs—and we celebrated a major breakthrough in 2009 when $300 million in DERA funding was approved as part of the federal economic stimulus package—we are now pushing hard for additional funding. Demand for efficient and effective diesel cleanup measures has grown exponentially in the last few years: In 2009, the DERA program received more than $2 billion in applications for $300 million total grant funds. CATF and the Diesel Campaign want to see DERA given full funding, so that more states can benefit from these programs. This view is supported by a broad coalition of industry, government, and environmental stakeholders including Cummins Engine, Caterpillar, Corning, Inc., American Trucking Association, American Lung Association, Environmental Defense Fund, National Association of Clean Air Agencies, and more. In fact, more than 350 diverse organizations have signed letters to Congress supporting full funding of DERA.