Legislation to align Connecticut’s emissions standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks with California’s stringent regulations passed the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee on Monday and awaits consideration by the state House and Senate.
The regulations chiefly concern the discharge of nitrogen-oxide which is associated with worsening acid rain and smog as well as respiratory and cardiac ailments.
Gov. Ned Lamont’s (D) administration has urged lawmakers to adopt the California standards.
“Cleaner air, better health outcomes and reductions in our greenhouse gas emissions are all possible if we adopt California’s… standards,” Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes said in a statement. “Clean air is a policy choice, and adopting these standards means telling auto manufacturers that Connecticut residents and businesses want more options for cleaner operating vehicles that will lead to cleaner air and less money spent on healthcare costs associated with lung diseases aggravated by air pollution from the transportation sector. This is the right choice for Connecticut residents, and for our environment.”
California’s emission controls, as set forth by the state’s Clean Air Resources Board (CARB), would relegate many diesel trucks with engines built before 2006 to disuse.
The Motor Transport Association of Connecticut has strongly opposed the effort to adopt the California truck regulations on the grounds that they would saddle Constitution-State trucking companies with $1.62 billion in new costs over the next 11 years. The organization has also said that the mandates to switch to electric vehicles would strain the state’s power grid to the same extent that adding over 468,000 new homes would. Meanwhile, trucks from other states coming into Connecticut will not need to comply with California’s standards.
“Do you think CT’s small business trucking companies will be able to deal with $1.62 billion in new costs over an 11-year period, or are they more likely to run older, dirtier trucks longer instead?” association President Joe Sculley sardonically asked in a Twitter post on Tuesday.
Sculley’s organization has alternatively supported a new federal regulation that supporters expect to reduce nitrogen-oxide emissions by 90 percent per truck.
The California-standards bill was previously passed out of the Environment Committee. Backers hope to win its full legislative approval and send it to Lamont’s desk before the General Assembly goes out of session on May 4.
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Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Connecticut Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
