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    • Fight brews over new state rule to cut emissions from ‘dirty diesel’ trucks • New Jersey Monitor
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    Fight brews over new state rule to cut emissions from ‘dirty diesel’ trucks • New Jersey Monitor

    Umito Posted on

    Two state lawmakers want to delay passage of a new environmental rule targeting trucks meant to reduce diesel pollution in New Jersey and speed the trucking industry’s transition to electric vehicles, but the plan bill could face obstacles from the governor’s office.

    Senator Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex) and Representative Clinton Calabrese (D-Bergen) presented legislation last week would delay by two years the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, which was adopted in December 2021 and is scheduled to take effect January 1.

    The rule, which is modeled after California regulations, requires manufacturers to sell zero-emission trucks and other vehicles weighing more than 8,500 pounds as an increasing percentage of their annual sales over the next decade. By 2035, 40 to 75% of a manufacturer’s annual sales will need to be electric, depending on the type of vehicle sold.

    Diegnan and Calabrese say there isn’t enough roadside electric infrastructure to handle all the large vehicles that will need charging stations, and that electric vehicles are so expensive that buyers will head to neighboring states to buy gasoline models.

    “Everyone is in favor of the goal. But we have 1,200 charging stations in the state of New Jersey, most of which are not accessible to trucks. What’s going to happen is everyone will buy their trucks in Pennsylvania,” Diegnan said. “Obviously we don’t want to abandon the goal, but we have to make it realistic. We don’t want reasonable people to oppose this goal because the imposition is unreasonable.”

    Two years shouldn’t have a major impact on the state’s green goals, Calabrese added.

    “If I said a decade, you might be upset. But two years is really not a long time, and it’s just so the industry can get a little head start here,” Calabrese said.

    Governor Phil Murphy, whose green diary is a key mission of his administration, does not support a delay, a spokeswoman told the New Jersey Monitor.

    “While the governor’s office does not comment on pending legislation, we remain committed to implementing Advanced Clean Trucks within the current timeline,” said spokesperson Natalie Hamilton.

    Senator Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex) favors a delay. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)

    Diegnan is undeterred, however, and two other lawmakers — Sen. Doug Steinhardt (R-Warren) and Rep. Robert Karabinchak (D-Middlesex) — have signed the bills since they were introduced.

    “The governor’s goal is obviously correct. We all want clean energy. But in this specific case, it’s simply impossible. I think the governor is a reasonable person. I am sure that when he sees all the facts, he will adjust accordingly,” Diegnan said. “Again, we’re not destroying it. We’re just giving it more time to set up.

    Concerns about lungs and ‘local economic collapse’

    If the bill goes to a hearing — Diegnan said nothing is scheduled yet — there will likely be a fierce debate between environmentalists and the trucking industry.

    Environmentalists warn that a two-year delay would ensure the deployment of untold numbers of new diesel trucks with decades-long lifespans, worsening air pollution in a state where more highways per square mile than any other state in the country.

    “Since the pandemic, we have seen continued growth in the warehouse economy, which is obviously a huge environmental problem. Truck traffic on our roads in every county across the state has increased. So this problem has gotten worse and it’s even more important that we have an electrification plan in place,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “The impact of diesel fumes may not show up in the bottom line of trucking companies, but it certainly shows up in the lungs of New Jerseyans.”

    Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, opposes a delay. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)

    In addition, he added, the transition is getting off to a “modest” start and accelerating over a decade.

    “We’re not going to suddenly have an all-electric truck fleet overnight, or even within this decade,” O’Malley said.

    Truck dealers say no one wants – or needs to – buy electric trucks, so the mandate sets the industry up for a “local economic collapse.”

    “They are very expensive. They cost three to three and a half times the cost of diesel trucks with internal combustion engines,” said Joe Cambria, owner of Cambria Truck Centers, a heavy-duty truck dealership in Elizabeth and Edison.

    Electric trucks weigh about 8,000 pounds more than diesel models, so the trucks won’t be able to carry as much, and without sufficient charging infrastructure and limited battery life, they won’t be able to travel as far, a added Cambria. That means more trucks will hit the road to meet freight demand, he said.

    Without delay, Cambria said, it could go bankrupt.

    “I mean, we’re going to try to transform into something else. We’ll just become a parts and service plant and maybe a used truck plant,” he said.

    Cambria won’t be the only company affected, warned Eric DeGesero, lobbyist for the New Jersey Motor Truck Association. The logistics industry is a $20 billion industry in New Jersey, he said.

    The state’s electric infrastructure must grow, electric vehicle technology must evolve and electric trucks must become more affordable before the new rule can be successfully implemented, Cambria and DeGesero said.

    “The trucking industry doesn’t care if the truck runs on lemonade or air. We need something that allows us to efficiently and cost-effectively move the nation’s freight, which is what keeps the U.S. economy going, and that’s what we’re putting at risk with this,” DeGesero said.

    Progress made

    The Diegnan bill arrived a week after the regulators Massachusetts And Oregon announced delays in similar regulations.

    Environmentalists have accused the truck lobby of acting as a “cartel” to pressure policymakers nationwide to delay or reject regulations aimed at protecting profits at the expense of public health and climate progress.

    Melissa Miles, executive director of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, said any delay would harm communities like Camden and Newark, which are near ports and already disproportionately affected by pollution.

    “The technology exists to clean up pollution from trucks. We simply need our lawmakers to use their power to protect our communities, not to roll back vital air quality policies,” Miles said.

    And despite concerns that New Jersey is not ready to adopt the rule, progress has been made recently.

    The State Board of Public Utilities announcement last week passed minimum filing requirements, which require private electric utilities to offer programs to expand charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and fleets.

    The same day, the US Environmental Protection Agency announcement a nearly $250 million federal grant to expand charging infrastructure for medium- and heavy-duty trucks along the Interstate-95 freight corridor.

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    Umito
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