What’s Happening

There are 423,000 medium and heavy-duty trucks on New Jersey’s roads, and every year they travel more than 6.2 billion miles in our state and burn 653 million gallons of petroleum-based fuel. Many are diesels with outdated pollution control devices, and their emissions cause high levels of asthma, cancer, and developmental defects – particularly in the urban neighborhoods where hundreds pass through each hour on their way to the cargo ports.

In the Ironbound section of Newark, one in four children have asthma – that is three times the state average. In some areas with heavy truck traffic, such as Elizabeth and Bayonne, diesel pollution can be 150 times higher than the level that is considered safe. No one should have to breathe poison, much less raise children in such an environment, also known to scientists as “diesel death zones.”

Clearly, it is long past the time to replace these filthy vehicles, so Gov. Murphy and the Department of Environmental Protection began the process by adopting what is known as the Advanced Clean Trucks rule. It is not the whole solution, but it is a hopeful and commendable start to one.

The ACT rule will begin in 2024, and require truck makers in our state to sell an increasing number of zero-emission trucks instead of diesel and gasoline vehicles. The rule, which follows the model set by California, requires that electric truck sales ramp up 5% each year until they comprise 55% of all “Class 2b” vehicles (pickups and vans) sold in 2035, while 75% of “Class 4-8″ trucks (all buses and heavy-duty trucks) sold are electrics.

Given that there are 37,500 new trucks sold to New Jersey owners every year, according to the DEP, that will help cut toxic pollution by removing a lot of dirty diesels from the road.

In this state, vehicles are responsible for 41% of greenhouse gases, and trucks and buses account for 25% of that – even though they represent only 4% of the vehicles on our roads.

N.J. adopts California’s clean truck rules meant to reduce number of diesels on the road and #AirPollution https://t.co/FiHg3eRJDr

— Larry Higgs (@CommutingLarry) December 21, 2021

The ACT rule should keep some of us alive longer. An extraordinary report commissioned by the National Resource Defense Council and the equally stellar Union of Concerned Scientists put a number on it: These rules will provide $11 billion in cumulative net health benefits in the next 30 years — including the cost of severe illness, aggravated asthma, respiratory ailments, and lost workdays — because it would cut nitrogen oxide emissions by 43% statewide.

So no matter how you measure it, this is a groundbreaking step for New Jersey, which becomes the first state on the east coast and fourth overall to adopt ACT. Bravo, DEP.

But there are many more steps to take.

There still needs to be a massive buildout of charging stations to accommodate these vehicles, and the DEP says it is “developing estimates.”Hayley Berliner of Environment New Jersey adds that the state still must adopt the Heavy Duty Omnibus Rule, which reduces emissions from diesels – not only the 18-wheelers, but the ubiquitous delivery trucks that have yet to go electric.

And every advocate would still like to see the DEP exert more regulatory authority at the ports, where there are 6,300 poison-spitting diesels that were built prior to 2007, and don’t comply with the latest emission standards.

“The port is where trucks go to die,” said Amy Goldsmith, the founder of Coalition For Healthy Ports. “The Port Authority still allows 1998 trucks to enter the port, many with over one million miles on their odometer and emission control devices that are out of date — if operational at all.”

And even after we do electrify the fleet, Goldsmith adds, “The power is coming from fossil fuel plants located in the Environmental Justice communities. We can’t be doing electrification on the backs of the same people – we’re going to just keep poisoning them.”

So many miles to go before we sleep. The DEP just took a smart but perfunctory step toward changing the transportation in our state, but this is no time to hit the brakes.