Because Trump is unlikely to approve them, California has no choice but to abandon its groundbreaking rules for zero-emission trucks and cleaner locomotives.
A semi-truck passing through the Portable Emission Acquisition System or PEAQS at the Otay Mesa Land Port of Entry, Oct. 18, 2022.
“California has withdrawn its pending waiver and authorization requests that U.S. EPA has not yet acted on,” Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph said in a statement. “While we are disappointed that U.S. EPA was unable to act on all the requests in time, the withdrawal is an important step given the uncertainty presented by the incoming administration that previously attacked California’s programs to protect public health and the climate and has said will continue to oppose those programs.
Diesel exhaust has been linked to cancer and contains fine particles that can trigger asthma and heart attacks as well as gases that form smog.Under the locomotive rule, only locomotives less than 23 years old would have been allowed in California beginning in 2030, unless they were zero emissions. The rule also limited how long they could idle. People living in communities with trains and rail yards have long complained that the emissions are making them sick.
California air-quality officials have been waiting for years for the Biden administration’s EPA to approve the last four rules, hoping that time wouldn’t run out. But the EPA failed to act in time. What’s more, Randolph said litigation will be increasingly likely under the incoming Trump administration so it was time to “protect and defend the work that we’ve already done.” Some business groups have already sued to try to block the mandate banning sales of gas-powered cars in 2035.
“The California Air Resources Board is assessing its option to continue its progress as part of its commitment to move forward the important work of improving the state’s air quality and reducing harmful pollutants that contribute to poor health outcomes and worsen climate change,” Randolph said in the statement.
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