Good riddance to diesel. Time for big trucks & trains to go clean in California | Opinion

California struck a major blow against air pollution in 1967 when then-Gov. Ronald Reagan signed legislation to create the agency now known as the California Air Resources Board.

Since then, the state has achieved a number of innovations nationally in the quest for cleaner air: first emission standards; requirements for catalytic converters; mandates for “check engine” diagnostic lights on the dashboard; zero-emission vehicle regulations; and greenhouse-gas standards for cars.

But now comes a new milestone: the nation’s first requirement for big-rig trucks and trains to transition from diesel engines to zero-emission motors.

The board approved those steps at its April meeting, and the significance was not lost on air board member Gideon Kracov, an environmental lawyer from Los Angeles. “Ten years from now, when we look back to this day … we can say that California has changed the world. We can say that California did this right.”

Continuing air pollution

Despite its long history of pollution regulation in California, the state continues to have the nation’s dirtiest air. According to the latest State of the Air report from the American Lung Association, more than 98% of Californians live in communities earning a failing grade for air pollution.

Cities in the Central Valley are notably bad. Certain zip codes in Fresno are among the most polluted in the state. Fresno remains among the top five most polluted cities in the nation, according to the report.

Low-income neighborhoods throughout the state bear the brunt of polluted air.

Cars were identified decades ago as key contributors to California’s air pollution. Diesel motors are also well known as major sources of pollutants, especially fine particulates — microscopic bits of pollution that can be inhaled and enter a person’s bloodstream, causing serious health consequences years later.

California has pushed auto manufacturers toward a 2035 deadline for selling only electric vehicles. In its latest actions, the state board has ordered the following:

▪ By 2036, truck manufacturers can only sell electric models of medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

▪ Converting fleets applies to companies with 50 or more vehicles or $50 million or more in revenue. Full compliance is due in 2042.

▪ By 2027, all local, county, state and federal government fleet purchases must be zero-emission. This includes the U.S. Postal Service.

▪ For trains, new engines must be zero emission by 2035, and all train fleets must be clean by 2058.

The air board had been signaling its policy direction since last fall. The benefits? Preventing an estimated 5,000 premature deaths by 2050; lowering the cancer risk near rail yards by 90%; and contributing $60 billion in health benefits statewide.

Hit to trucking

As laudable and logical as the decision is, the timetable the air board has set up for compliance is difficult for one sector of the trucking industry — drayage carriers. Those are cargo haulers who pick up a load and take it to a port for shipping. In the San Joaquin Valley, the cargo is typically agricultural produce, like nuts.

Jeff Cox, the co-owner of Best Drayage in Madera, says he has only until Dec. 31 to register his fleet of 90 diesel trucks. He can continue using them for their “useful” life — about 18 years or 800,000 miles. But all drayage truck fleets must be fully electric by 2035 — seven years before other sectors of the trucking industry must meet that goal.

The air board is motivated to clean up around ports, which are among the most polluted spots in the state. But the requirements for drayage fleets are unreasonably aggressive. The air board should reconsider this part of its schedule. Moving the drayage deadline to 2042, consistent with the other trucking fleets, would not only help these haulers, but their customers, chief among them Central Valley farmers.

California’s ambitions

Will converting to zero-emission — electric or hydrogen power — be easy? Of course not.

New electric trucks cost much more than diesel rigs. But air board staff say trucking firms will make back their investments, given that electric trucks have less maintenance needs, and electricity is much cheaper than diesel fuel. The state also has financial assistance available to help.

The infrastructure to support electric trucks is not yet in place. Cox said the air board did not understand that his trucks frequently make 500-mile round-trips from the Valley to the Port of Oakland and back. Where is he supposed to have his trucks recharge their batteries, he asks.

The California Energy Commission is leading efforts to make recharging stations more widespread.

Liane Randolph, chair of the air board, explains the push toward clean transportation this way: “We all know there’s a lot of challenges, but those challenges aren’t going to be tackled unless we move forward.”

She is absolutely right. It is in California’s DNA to be ambitious, even overreaching. The air board is not only pressuring businesses and consumers to change their habits to combat air pollution. It is pressuring other state agencies to develop the infrastructure needed to realize California’s air pollution standards. That pressure is the only way ambitious goals can be achieved.

As California has been in the past, so it remains today — the nation’s leader in the quest for clean air.