Civil and Municipal - Jan 22

9 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1 NEW JERSEY BECOMES THE NATION’S LATEST CLEAN TRUCKS STATE, DUMPING DIRTY DIESEL T he New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has adopted the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule, moving forward a regulatory path for electrifying everything from delivery vans to tractor trailers in the state. New Jersey is one of several states to move forward with adoption of California’s ACT rule this year. Oregon and Washington recently adopted the ACT rule; together, the states that have adopted or are considering the rule make up more than 20 percent of the national fleet of medium- and heavy-duty trucks. The ACT rule requires manufacturers to sell and deliver pollution-free zero-emission trucks to New Jersey beginning in 2025 and requires 40-75 percent new zero-emission truck sales by 2035. A diverse coalition of environmental, business, public health, and environmental justice advocates has urged the Murphy administration to adopt the ACT rule. Although the rule will help deliver zero-emission trucks to New Jersey and slash dirty diesel emissions, environmental justice advocates believe that it does not do enough to guarantee emissions reductions in environmental justice communities. As New Jersey moves forward with other clean truck policies, like the Heavy-Duty Omnibus Rule, the State needs to make sure that there are regulations that target emissions reductions in communities that are already overburdened by pollution. Studies have shown that by adopting clean trucks rules, New Jersey could save hundreds of lives, avoid thousands of additional respiratory illnesses, and reduce millions of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and NOx and PM emissions. QUOTES FROM SUPPORTERS: “We are glad that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Governor Murphy are moving forward with the ACT rule. This is a step towards moving New Jersey away from dirty diesel trucks and building healthier and safer communities across the state. This rule will significantly reduce emissions from the transportation sector, which contributes 41% of the overall greenhouse gas emissions in New Jersey,” said Anjuli Ramos-Busot, Sierra Club’s New Jersey Chapter Director. “In addition, this rule will also reduce air pollutants like NOx and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions. This will go a long way to protect the health and wellbeing of our communities.” “Gov. Murphy and the Department of Environmental Protection have demonstrated their bold commitment to climate leadership during this rulemaking process. As a result, this rule will deliver cleaner air, powerful opportunities to improve equity and spark economic growth in New Jersey,” said Mary Barber, Director, State Affairs at Environmental Defense Fund. “Now we need policymakers, utilities and the private sector working together to build out the charging infrastructure necessary to fuel these zero- emission trucks, which will ensure they are on our roads as soon as possible.” OPENING L INES