Requires cities with populations over 45,000 to incrementally reduce emissions in diesel powered motor vehicles owned by city agencies

Summary of provisions

Section one of the bill adds a new section to environmental conservation law relating to the use of ultra low sulfur diesel fuel and best available technology by diesel fuel-powered motor vehicles in cities with populations over forty-five thousand.

The section requires each diesel fuel-powered motor vehicle owned or operated by a city agency be powered by ultra low sulfur diesel fuel. The section establishes a schedule for cities to insure that all diesel fuel-powered vehicles (having a gross vehicle weight of more than 8,500 pounds) are either retrofitted with best available technology or equipped with an engine certified to EPA particulate matter standards.

The section directs the Commissioner of DEC to determine, and publish a list of, best available retrofit technologies to be used for each type of diesel truck, issue a written determination that permits the use of diesel fuel that has a sulfur content of no more than 30 parts per million to fulfill the requirements of the legislation, and provide waivers for localities for which the low sulfur fuel is not readily available.

It requires a report to the legislature regarding, among other things, the use of ultra low sulfur diesel fuel and the use of the best available retrofit technology by city-owned trucks, buses, etc. In the section there are listed occasions when the provisions will not apply. There is a severability clause.

Section two is the enacting clause.

Existing law

This legislation adds a new section to Environmental Conservation Law.

Justification

This legislation is intended to reduce the emission of pollutants in, and the noise levels of,heavy-duty on- and off-road diesel-powered trucks like garbage and recycling trucks, buses, and construction vehicles in New York state's urban areas.

Vehicle emissions pose serious health concerns for those who live and work in New York cities. These pollutants may result in respiratory problems, such as aggravated asthma and decreased lung function. In addition to particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides, diesel exhaust contains a number of air toxins, including benzene, formaldehyde and dioxin. The negative health impacts stemming from these emissions are especially detrimental to children and the elderly, the former of whom actually breathe fifty percent more air per pound of body weight than adults.

What may be most alarming about diesel exhaust is the considerable evidence that it is a likely carcinogen. In the EPA's Health Assessment Document for Diesel Engine Exhaust, "diesel exhaust was classified as likely to be carcinogenic to humans by inhalation at environmental exposures..." In addition, human epidemiological studies demonstrate an association between exposure to the exhaust and increased lung cancer rates in occupational settings.

The connection between vehicle exhaust and asthma is also of great consequence to New York's cities, which suffer from some of the highest asthma rates in the country. Studies have concluded that "routine exposure to dirty air during childhood actually harms lung development, leading to a permanently reduced ability to breathe" and that "environmental pollutants... -- including combustion byproducts... -- may increase the rate of low birth weight babies and babies with smaller heads, both of which may be linked to lower IQ and poorer school performance."

We can have cleaner air and quieter, healthier neighborhoods and make genuine progress toward energy independence -- all by simply using a cleaner fuel and technology that has been commercialized and refined over the last 15 years.

Legislative history

2005-06: S.8015 Serrano Referred to Rules 2007-09 S.3136 Serrano Referred to Environmental Conservation 2010: Senate & Assembly Referred to Environmental Conservation 2011: Senate & Assembly Referred to Environmental Conservation 2012: S.2720A

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Local fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

The act shall take effect 180 days after becoming a law, with provisions.