Shelving of clean-air rules ‘a slap in the face,’ Inland activist says

Unlike what they’re carrying inside, diesel fumes belched from big rigs and freight trains serving Inland Empire warehouses have long been an unwelcome package.

Snuffing out diesel exhaust linked to cancer and other health problems is the goal of two clear-air rules passed by California’s air quality watchdog in 2023.

The Advanced Clean Fleets and In-Use Locomotive regulations need federal waivers to be enforced. But California officials this week pulled plans to seek those waivers with Donald Trump — long a detractor of the state’s environmental policies — returning to the White House.

“Plans to meet the (airborne particulate matter) and Ozone standards can now be kissed goodbye, for now,” Ana Gonzalez, executive director of the Jurupa Valley-based Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, said in a news release.

“What a slap in the face to our community, especially those in the Inland Empire,” she said. “This will now make it harder to meet public health protections on air quality.!”

The San Bernardino County-based People’s Collective for Environmental Justice “is deeply disappointed” by the decision not to seek the waivers “as many community members worked hard to advocate for these critical rules,” Andrea Vidaurre of the collective said in an emailed statement.

“The EPA’s delay in action will continue to harm families in the Inland Empire, especially those living in heavily burdened pollution areas, and perpetuating environmental injustice. With worsening air quality and the climate crisis intensifying with uncontrollable wildfires, the stakes are even higher.”

Officials hoped President Joe Biden would grant the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency waivers before he left office Monday, Jan. 20. Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Washington, D.C. shortly after the Nov. 5 election to lobby for the waivers and other California priorities.

The California Air Resources Board adopted the clean fleets and locomotive rules in 2023. Not seeking the waivers is “an important step given the uncertainty presented by the incoming administration,” Liane Randolph, air board chair, said in an emailed statement.

She noted during Trump’s first term, he “previously attacked California’s programs to protect public health and the climate and (he) has said (he) will continue to oppose those programs.”

The air 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 added.

Diesel emissions contain more than 40 toxic air contaminants, including cancer-causing substances such as arsenic and benzine, according to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

They also can contain carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that spurs climate change, which exacerbated the wildfires that devastated Southern California this month.

The clean fleets rule would require more zero-emission trucks to be incorporated into truck fleets. Truck makers could only sell zero-emission vehicles in California starting in the 2036 model year.

The locomotive rule would require all locomotives operating in California to run in “zero-emission configuration” — a way that doesn’t emit pollution — by 2035.

The rule also would require freight train companies to deposit money into a spending account that can only be used for zero-emission technology, with the amount deposited based on their trains’ emissions.

Both rules faced legal challenges from the trucking and freight train sectors, who argued the rules impose unrealistic and costly deadlines on businesses. Seventeen red states sued to block the clean fleets rule, saying California was trying to force them to adopt zero-emission trucks.

The rules’ critics had an ally in Trump, who routinely attacks California’s Democratic leaders and environmental policies. The Republican president-elect is also highly skeptical of clean energy, often spreading falsehoods about wind turbines and solar energy during campaign rallies.

Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, hailed California’s decision not to seek a waiver for the clean fleets rule.

“The trucking industry and American consumers can breathe a collective sigh of relief … after (the air board finally bowed to reality and shelved its job-killing Advanced Clean Fleets regulation,” Spear said in an emailed statement.

“This unachievable mandate would have raised costs and caused disruption throughout our supply chain without delivering the promised environmental benefits.”

The association, Spear added, “will continue to advocate for rational, nationwide emissions standards that are both ambitious and achievable.”

Inland air quality routinely ranks among the nation’s worst. Studies show diesel exhaust being especially hazardous for neighborhoods — often low-income and communities of color — living next door to warehouses, which form an economic backbone for a region of predominantly blue-collar workers.

With the rules on the backburner for the foreseeable future, Gonzalez urged Newsom, state lawmakers and air quality regulators “to reconsider and to fight harder for these necessary protections.

“The health of millions, especially children and elderly residents in disproportionately affected neighborhoods, is at stake,” she said.