U.S. Representative Donald McEachin (D-4th District) joined two other Democratic representatives and three Democratic U.S. Senators in calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to adopt “the strongest possible heavy-duty vehicle [emissions] requirements” in order to protect the environment and minority communities.

In its three-page letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, the group wrote that adopting tougher standards for diesel trucks nationwide (through the proposed Cleaner Trucks Initiative) would help address the climate crisis safeguard clean air and improve public health. The latter, they wrote, was of particular importance for Black, Latino, Asian and Indigenous communities, who tend to live closer to the trucking corridors in which the trucks’ carbon emissions are distributed.

“Heavy duty vehicles make up only 10 percent of all vehicles on roads in the U.S., but contribute 45 percent of the transportation sector’s nitrogen oxide pollution, 57 percent of its fine particulate matter pollution, and 28 percent of global warming emissions,” wrote the group, which also included Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Nannette Diaz Barragán, as well as Senators Cory Booker, Chuck Schumer and Alex Padilla. “These impacts fall disproportionately on low-income communities.”

U.S. Rep. Donald McEachin (D-4th District)

Nitrogen oxide can cause cancer and lung irritation and can weaken the body’s immunity. When combined with ground-level ozone exposure it can create even worse health outcomes.

Studies, the group wrote, show that diesel traffic is the largest source of nitrogen oxide disparity by race in the U.S.

“Transitioning from combustion to zero-emission trucks is therefore one of our greatest opportunities to tackle both the climate crisis and environmental justice,” they wrote.

The group wants the EPA to adopt standards that would achieve by 2027 more than a 90% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions from trucks that are sold today, relative to 2010 standards. It also wants the federal government to require that all new trucks be zero-emission models by 2035.

According to McEachin and the other five representatives and senators, there are more than 100 commercially available models of zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty tricks and buses, and more are expected to enter production this year.

“Federal policy is vital to increase zero-emission model availability and speed the transition towards clean transportation,” they wrote. “Multiple studies support the consensus that zero-emission trucks produce substantial savings, even more than electric cars; zero-emission trucks have short (and shrinking) payback periods due to reduced fuel and maintenance costs and more predictable maintenance schedules.”

A study by GridLab, Energy Innovation and U.C. Berkeley’s Center for Environmental Public Policy concluded that electrifying the nation’s car and truck stock by 2035 would create a net of 2 million jobs.

“There is no time to wait,” McEachin and the others wrote. “There is a critical need for the EPA to take swift action moving towards a zero-emissions future to protect the health and safety of environmental justice communities.”