Clean Freight Coalition Testifies at EPA Hearing on Advanced Clean Fleets Rule
The Clean Freight Coalition (CFC), of which 黑料社区is a member, urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deny California鈥檚 request for a Clean Air Act waiver to implement the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) Rule during an August 14 public hearing.
CFC Executive Director Jim Mullen said California鈥檚 failure to understand and properly analyze the state of technology, the infrastructure requirements, the fleet鈥檚 operational challenges, and the economic burden to comply with ACF will cause substantial harm to the supply chain, small businesses that provide jobs, and the economy if the waiver is granted.
鈥淭he entire commercial motor vehicle ecosystem is spending billions of dollars to reduce emissions through advanced technologies, the purchase of new commercial vehicles, charging infrastructure investments, and the use of renewable and alternative fuels,鈥� Mullen said. 鈥淭he state of the available technology and the necessary infrastructure is not sufficient for fleets to comply with the ACF. Even if we were to ignore the reality that the technology and infrastructure is not sufficient for compliance, the costs of the equipment and the necessary infrastructure upgrades would drive industry stakeholders out of business.鈥�
Adopted in October 2023, the ACF establishes purchasing mandates for fleets, requiring any new truck registered to operate in a California port to be a Zero Emission Vehicle this year. It also sets a deadline on the manufacture and sale of diesel medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the state, eliminating diesel sales by 2036. It is a companion rule to the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) rule, which sets zero emission vehicle sale mandates for manufacturers.
The California Trucking Association subsequently filed a lawsuit against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) contesting the regulation. CARB submitted a waiver request to the EPA in November 2023 and announced a voluntary enforcement delay in response to the legal challenge.
During the public hearing, Mullen underscored that California has viable options for reducing its carbon emissions while industry transitions to electric trucks. Compared with petroleum-based diesel, renewable diesel and biodiesel reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 percent. The California Air Resources Board recently underscored their important role in reducing carbon emissions, announcing that renewable diesel and biodiesel constitute more than half of the diesel supply in California.
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