Contact: Sasha Tenenbaum, stenenbaum@momscleanairforce.org, (917) 887-0146
Washington, DC—Today, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan announced the agency is granting a Clean Air Act waiver for California’s Advanced Clean Truck rule, which also allows other states to adopt and enforce those standards, protecting their residents from health-harming heavy-duty truck pollution.
In response to the announcement, Moms Clean Air Force Senior Legislative and Regulatory Policy Manager Melody Reis released the following statement:
“Moms Clean Air Force commends EPA for taking action to curb tailpipe emissions from diesel-powered trucks. By granting states the ability to adopt more protective heavy-duty vehicle standards, today’s announcement means that families and communities across the country will be safer from health-harming diesel exhaust. It also means progress on tackling the significant climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation industry.
“Trucks play an essential role in our lives and economy, but diesel exhaust is toxic. Each vehicle spews ozone-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hazardous particle pollution into the air across hundreds of miles and into the neighborhoods, playgrounds, and community spaces where families live, work, and play. These pollutants harm our bodies, damaging our lungs and increasing the risk of bronchitis, asthma, respiratory infections, and even heart disease and cancer. For children, whose small bodies are still developing, breathing diesel exhaust is especially dangerous.
“While millions of people around the country live near high-traffic corridors, far too often it is communities of color that bear the highest burden from heavy-duty truck pollution. The frontline communities most affected by toxic diesel exhaust—neighborhoods located near ports, shipping hubs, and major highways—have been referred to as “asthma alleys” and “diesel death zones” due to the serious health effects suffered by residents. Unsurprisingly, these communities have historically housed low-income families and people of color, making this a clear example of environmental injustice. No child or family should have to live in an area nicknamed a “death zone.”
“Granting states more authority to clean up pollution from diesel trucks and accelerate the transition to zero-emissions vehicles couldn’t come at a more critical moment. The quality of our children’s futures depends, quite literally, on us taking climate action right now.
“Moms Clean Air Force has long been advocating for stronger protections from truck pollution, and we applaud EPA’s granting of this waiver. Cleaner trucks mean cleaner air and a safer climate for our children.”