EVHybridNoire commends Biden administration’s initiative to reduce air pollution from heavy vehicles, supports additional steps to protect frontline communities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 7, 2022
Contact: Shane Reese, [email protected]
EVHybridNoire commends Biden administration’s initiative to reduce air pollution from heavy vehicles, supports additional steps to protect frontline communities
WASHINGTON—The Biden administration today announced a proposal for mitigating the impact of fossil fuel-derived pollution emitted from heavy-duty trucks nationwide, which severely affects public health, and especially the health of frontline communities. The administration also announced billions of dollars in investments to deploy electric-powered trucks and buses across the country, including public school buses and public transit buses, among other clean transportation initiatives.
Vice President Kamala Harris, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made the announcement today at an event at the White House.
“There are many communities … where pollution from heavy-duty trucks and buses has made the air poisonous,” Harris said. “Imagine that they produced zero emissions.” She later stated, “We have the opportunity to see 18,000 fewer cases of childhood asthma and 1.1 million fewer missed days of school each year. EPA is issuing a proposed rule that, if finalized, will reduce dangerous emissions from all new heavy-duty trucks and buses.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will implement the Clean Trucks proposal beginning with model year (MY) 2027, and includes a standard to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution from heavy-duty trucks and would reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) primarily from school and mass transit buses.
The EPA’s press office stated that this is the first step in the agency’s “Clean Trucks Plan” – a series of clean air and climate regulations that will be developed over the next three years to reduce pollution from trucks and buses and to advance the transition to a zero-emissions transportation future.
After the announcement, EVHybridNoire co-founder and former medical school professor Dr. Shelley Francis said, “Addressing air pollution from HDVs is critical for all communities, but especially for frontline and communities of color that have faced decades of disproportionately negative health impacts from air-polluting tailpipe emissions.”
Francis continued, “Regulations on heavy-duty vehicles have historically lagged decades behind other emissions and efficiency regulations, with the first ever heavy-duty vehicle EPA and NHTSA regulations passed over a decade ago, so it’s past time that these HDV regulations are confirmed and that additional steps are taken to continue advancements in the sector.” She concluded, “These trucks and buses drive through underresourced communities every day, so it’s time to bring the strongest standards forward and stop this generational health calamity and help mitigate existing health disparities.”
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