EPA Finalizes New Rule To Cut Pollution From Trucks And Buses

The Biden administration on Tuesday finalized tougher pollution standards for heavy-duty vehicles like large trucks, delivery vans, and buses starting with the model year 2027, Ella Nilsen and Peter Valdes-Dapena reported for CNN.

Photo Insert: The new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule is the first update to the standards since 2001.

The new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule is the first update to the standards since 2001. It will cut down on the smog and soot from heavy-duty trucks by requiring them to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by nearly 50% by 2045, and will be more than 80% stronger than the current standard, the agency said.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement the new rule would protect public health, “especially the health of 72 million people living near truck freight routes in America, including our most vulnerable populations in historically overburdened communities.”

The agency estimated the rule will result in up to 2,900 fewer premature deaths, 18,000 fewer cases of childhood asthma, and 6,700 fewer hospital admissions. It also estimated the rule will lead to 78,000 fewer lost days of work, 1.1 million fewer lost school days for kids, and an overall net benefit of $29 billion.

Transportation is the largest source of planet-warming emissions in the US, with average household vehicles making up over 50% of the sector’s total emissions.

Heavy-duty vehicles like big trucks and buses make up about 23%; fewer of them are on the roads, but because of their size and their fuel requirements, they contribute an outsized proportion of air pollution and planet-warming emissions.

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