CONTACT: Sasha Tenenbaum
Senior Manager, Media and Public Engagement
stenenbaum@momscleanairforce.org
(917) 887-0146
Washington, DC—Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its Clean Trucks Plan, outlining a series of actions that the agency will take to reduce pollution from new freight trucks and buses.
“EPA’s Clean Trucks Plan finalizes important federal protections against nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution from new medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles—significantly reducing that pollution to save thousands of lives,” says Melody Reis, Senior Legislative and Regulatory Policy Manager for Moms Clean Air Force.
“EPA has also committed to moving swiftly to recognize California’s separate emission standards for new freight trucks; more than a dozen states across the country have joined California in adopting them or are committed to doing so. EPA has also committed to new standards to be adopted in 2023 that will chart the path to zero emissions from the freight trucks and buses in our neighborhoods and roadways. By leveraging the extensive investments for deploying zero-emitting vehicles laid out in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Clean Trucks Plan presents a vital modernization of EPA’s approach to protections to public health from truck pollution.
“This is an important step forward in cleaning up the air our children breathe. Heavy-duty vehicle emissions increase the risk of bronchitis, asthma, heart disease, and cancer. Children, whose little lungs are still developing, are particularly at risk.
“Further, low-income communities—which are more likely to be located near highways, freight corridors, warehouses, and rail yards—bear the brunt of emissions from these vehicles.
“With ever-increasing demand for freight, greenhouse gas emissions from trucks are on the rise too, making the transition to a cleaner heavy-duty fleet even more urgent. While heavy-duty vehicles make up less than 10% of all vehicles on the road, they emit a disproportionate amount of toxic air pollution and climate-warming greenhouse gases.”
Moms Clean Air Force member Erandi Treviño, whose home in Houston is above a truck depot, spoke at the EPA announcement about the dangers of truck pollution:
“My youngest niece is four and has severe allergies and breathing problems that often disrupt her sleep while my eight-year-old niece has eczema and, after having lived through Hurricane Harvey, has anxiety about extreme weather events. My mother and I both have fibromyalgia and a series of other chronic conditions that are made worse by pollution. EPAs Clean Trucks Plan means recognition that sacrificial zones like my beloved neighborhood of Southeast Houston are unacceptable—and it’s also recognition that my family’s health is a priority for the Biden administration,” says Treviño. “That said, there is considerably more work to be done. I look forward to working with EPA to make this a reality. There is no time to waste.”
Disponible en español.
