EPA’s Truck Rules Leave More to Be Done

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Environmental Protection Agency issued new standards that would curb dangerous tailpipe pollution from trucks in the coming years, the first time it has updated these standards in more than two decades.

While this rule is an overdue improvement, it still allows truck makers to keep producing polluting vehicles. Tens of millions of Americans – especially those in communities near highways, ports, and freight hubs – are forced to breathe polluted air caused by trucks. 

The following is a statement from, Britt Carmon, the federal clean vehicles advocate at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):

“After two decades of inaction, EPA is finally moving to cut harmful truck tailpipe pollution. But these standards fall short, and the agency missed a critical opportunity to slash soot and smog and accelerate the shift to the cleanest vehicles.  

“EPA now needs to move quickly to put in place the next round of standards that will accelerate the transition to zero-emitting trucks so that we can all be free from the tailpipe pollution that is harming our health and accelerating climate change.” 

For more on what’s at stake, please see this earlier blog. 

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.