Statement: Trump EPA proposes weakening health protections against pollution from new diesel buses and trucks

WASHINGTON — Trump EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin today announced a proposal to weaken certain protections against pollution from new heavy-duty diesel vehicles – including transit and school buses, delivery trucks, garbage trucks, and long-haul semi-trucks. They are a small fraction of the vehicles on our roads but are the largest transportation source of some pollutants that cause asthma attacks, bronchitis, heart attacks, strokes and preventable deaths. The commonsense standards to reduce that pollution apply to nhttps://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/proposed-rule-amendments-and-nonconformance-penaltiesew heavy-duty vehicles, are based on available solutions, and provide crucial health benefits for the American people.

“This Trump EPA proposal to weaken vital clean air protections will mean more health harms and higher costs in communities across the country,” said Peter Zalzal, Distinguished Counsel and Associate Vice President for Clean Air Strategies at Environmental Defense Fund. “Heavy duty diesel vehicles like freight trucks and buses emit huge amounts of smog and soot-forming pollution into the air we breathe, but truck makers are already introducing new engines that can substantially cut this pollution and meet protective standards. EPA should abandon this proposal and instead maintain strong pollution safeguards for new heavy-duty vehicles.”

EPA finalized more protective standards in 2022 for harmful smog and soot-forming pollution from newly manufactured heavy-duty diesel vehicles, beginning with model year 2027. It was the first major update in more than 20 years. Leading manufacturers have announced they have engines ready to meet the standards.

Today, Administrator Zeldin proposed weakening some provisions of the standards including incentives to ensure sound operational practices and assurances that new engines continue to deliver pollution reductions as they are used. EPA’s proposal would result in more pollution, health harms and higher costs, including for the 72 million Americans who live close to a freight route.