* Press release excerpt from NRDC, Sierra Club Illinois and the Respiratory Health Association…

Recent record-breaking spikes in dangerous air pollutants from wildfire smoke underscore the urgent need for regulations to address the outsized impacts of diesel pollution on air quality, which underpinned the unhealthy air days Illinoisans suffered in June. The health impacts of diesel pollution in Illinois are well documented. Fossil fuel-powered trucks emit fine particulate pollution (PM) and smog-forming gasses (NOx). These pollutants lead to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases—including asthma, lung cancer, heart attacks, and strokes—and can cause premature death. […]

Climate change and global warming have caused months of weather extremes across the country. In Illinois, transportation is the biggest contributor to climate change. Transportation emissions are also a leading driver of dangerous ozone and particulate matter pollution in the state, a constant threat that contributed to Chicago experiencing the worst air quality globally last month.

“Climate change exacerbates the threat of extreme heat and wildfires, both of which compound existing air quality issues here in Illinois,” said Anastasia Montgomery, a PhD Candidate of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Northwestern University. “Enacting these clean truck safeguards will increase our climate resilience while also ensuring an equitable transition to zero-emission trucks that will benefit the communities most impacted. The urgency of this work cannot be overstated. That’s why we are asking the Governor to act now.”

By adopting two foundational clean truck regulations, Illinois could generate net societal benefits of roughly $26 billion through 2050. So says an independent analysis by the Environmental Resources Management (ERM) Group evaluating the impact of the Advanced Clean Trucks and Heavy-Duty Omnibus rules in Illinois.

“Our climate cannot wait; our communities cannot wait. Governor Pritzker, you have the power to implement clean truck rules in Illinois,” said J.C. Kibbey, senior Illinois clean energy advocate at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “You have the power to give us cleaner air to breathe, a healthier climate to pass to our children. We ask you today to use that power.”

California’s Advanced Clean Trucks rule would increase the percentage of new zero-emission truck sales through 2035…

Class 2B trucks are between 8,501-10,000 pounds. For example, The Chevy Silverado 2500, RAM 2500, and Ford F-250 are Class 2B. The more common 1500’s and the 150 are 2A and not included.

Explanation of California’s Heavy-Duty Omnibus from the NRDC…

Heavy-duty vehicles are the biggest source of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in California, emitting nearly a third of all NOx pollution, as well as over a fourth of diesel particulate matter (PM). NOx contributes to smog and secondary PM, which, along with primary PM emissions, are associated with increased risk of premature deaths, hospitalization, and ER visits. Numerous respiratory and cardiovascular diseases are linked to these pollutants such as asthma, decreased lung function, heart attacks, and lung cancer. […]

The Omnibus rule will cut NOx emissions from heavy-duty trucks by roughly 75% below current standards beginning in 2024 and 90% in 2027. In addition to cleaning up NOx, the Omnibus rule looks to institutionalize PM pollution controls and prevent backsliding by adopting a more stringent standard that aligns with current industry certifications. These reductions add up to $36 billion in statewide health benefits from 3,900 avoided premature deaths and 3,150 hospitalizations from 2022 to 2050.

* Center Square…

Don Schaefer, executive vice president of the Mid-West Truckers Association, said modern trucks run much cleaner than in the past.

“Are we reducing emissions, we’ve reduced emissions by 90% on most diesel trucks over the last 20 years, so there is progress being made,” Schaefer told The Center Square. […]

Andrew Boyle from the American Trucking Association told a Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee in April that more thought needs to go into the process of mandating electric semi-trucks.

“In Illinois, a facility teed up 30 trucks for electrification, and the city of Joliet came back and said this is some kind of joke. You’re asking for more draw than the city requires,” said Boyle.

According to the ATA, a clean diesel truck can spend 15 minutes fueling anywhere in the country and then travel about 1,200 miles before fueling again. In contrast, today’s long-haul battery electric trucks have a range of about 150-330 miles and can take up to 10 hours to charge.

I couldn’t find confirmation for the claim that diesel emissions were reduced by 90 percent in the last 20 years. Maybe some of you can. Eleven years ago, the Diesel Technology Forum made the claim that emissions had already been reduced by 99 percent for NOx and 98 percent for particulate emissions in ten years.

Thoughts?

       

18 Comments - Bluesbrothers - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 11:50 am: Interesting question about the amount of electrical draw required, which makes sense when thinking about all the freight and the total weight of goods being moved through places like Joliet. Something needs to be done, but the biggest issue I see is a lot of really old trucks moving freight from the rail to the warehouses. Diesel engines last a long time, and it seems like a lot of independent contractors running old trucks are moving the containers from the rail yards to the warehouses. Not sure how these regulations help those small business owners transition to electric. - Frida's boss - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 11:59 am: Sounds like an argument to expand I55 add more trucks baby maybe I should put the lunch beer down - JS Mill - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 12:05 pm: Electric cannot do what diesel and gas do when it comes to hauling, someday probably, but not for the foreseeable future. That is a simple fact. I am pro electric but we have to be realistic. We don’t yet have a support system for a massive migration to electric either, and that includes not only charging stations (which are bettig a lot better but is non-existent outside of large population centers) but also electric generation. Something else to think about, electric vehicles ,especially trucks from 1/2 ton pickup to semi, a dramatically heavier than gas or diesel powered trucks. That will have an impact on our roads and bridges. Electric (what ever happened to hydrogen cells?) will be nice when it comes to maintenance, much less needed. But we are at least a decade away from viable long haul and even short haul electric trucks. The ford electric f150 is a prime example. Pulling a trailer can maybe, if it is a small trailer, get you 100 miles with a strong tailwind going down hill. Hybrids might be a better interim solution. - unafraid - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 12:10 pm: A great goal as to who wants to breathe this stuff. I read the various reports cited. I must have somehow missed how specifically this was to be done. I see the required regulations but not much else. Anyone who can point out what I missed please clear this up for me please. Maybe the reports just went over my limited scientific ability to understand it. - Donnie Elgin - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 12:16 pm: “By adopting two foundational clean truck regulations, Illinois could generate net societal benefits of roughly $26 billion through 2050. So says an independent analysis by the Environmental Resources Management (ERM) Group evaluating the impact of the Advanced Clean Trucks and Heavy-Duty Omnibus rules in Illinois” Why should IL adopt the rules issued by The California Air Resources Board? Adoption of such rules would have huge implications for both truckers and consumers. The inevitable result will be massive increases in prices. - Anyone Remember - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 12:17 pm: What is left unsaid is diesel trucks will have to be maintained to keep emissions down. Perhaps annual exhaust testing? - Stormsw7706 - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 12:37 pm: No need to look it up. He said so. 90 percent reduction just like that. Fixed. - Mason born - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 12:54 pm: I fear the tech isn’t there when it comes to hauling. We’re looking at getting a larger camper, kids getting bigger 2 dogs, etc., enough that a 1500 could handle it but it would be hard. Looked at the electric trucks and while the momentarily performance is nice the range restraints are significant. To make it worse few charging stations are pull through making charging wildly impractical. Until battery capacity makes a significant jump it’s a big ask. On heavy trucks you could increase the battery weight but you loses a corresponding amount of carrying capacity. I think it’s a very worthy goal but I don’t think passing regs wildly ahead of the tech is a great idea. As for the grid I’m not sure we know what mass adoption of EV’s will do let alone heavy hauler stations charging almost constantly. - fireman1 - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 1:06 pm: Has anyone thought about exempting emergency vehicles? A lot of ambulances are now on F450 and 550 chassis. Fire trucks are oversized as well. There have been numerous times the NOX sensors go out on an ambulance, and it has to be taken out of service for an extended period of time. There is already a shortage of ambulances available on a good day now we have to take it out of service because of an emission sensor issue. This just madness. - Donnie Elgin - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 1:07 pm: Let the available manufacturers/emissions technology catch up with the environmental lobby. changing a huge part of our nation’s logistics take a long time. The Diesel Emissions Reduction Act which resulted in moving to low-emission diesel technology passed in 2010. Implementation is incremental as commercial diesel trucks have an average life of 15 years. We are making progress “Illinois is the state with the fastest-growing registration of new advanced diesel technology Class 8 trucks” https://www.ccjdigital.com/trucks/article/15542071/lowemission-diesel-tech-use-grew-10-in-2022 - Cool Papa Bell - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 1:14 pm: An Illinois based company Clear Flame is trying to address the problems by building a diesel engine that uses 85% ethanol as the fuel. They claim a 45% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and a 90% reduction in NOx (smog) and 99% reduction in soot/PM. That solves your particulate matter issue. The fuel isn’t perfect - but you can establish 85% ethanol fuel sites much easier than charging stations. And YES ethanol MPGs will be lower than diesel MPG the range isn’t 300 miles every 10 hours. - Dotnonymous x - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 1:52 pm: Both PM and Nox are now less than zero…according to someone…so yeah…nuthin’ to choke on here. - SAP - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 1:56 pm: Electric vehicles are heavy. Using the Ford F-150 pickup v. the Lightning (Electric version of F-150). Curb Weight | 2022 Ford F-150 vs. The Ford F-150 Electric Lightning. The 2022 Ford F-150 curb weight is rated at 4,021 to 5,014 pounds. For now, the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning will have a curb weight of around 6,500 pounds. All of which is to say that Electric Vehicles cause a lot of additional wear and tear on the roadways. - Rich Miller - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 1:57 pm: ===cause a lot of additional wear and tear=== That’s a myth. - Dotnonymous x - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 2:06 pm: Addiction to oil is (obviously) resistant to treatment…but Mother Nature will continue to send strong messages…until we treat the greedy disease. - Dotnonymous x - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 2:24 pm: More on the way…https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/?monitors=pm25&conto urs=pm25&tab=forecast&forecastcontours=forecasttomorrow&a mp;forecastmonitors=forecasttomorrow&showgreencontours= false&xmin=-15738918.946669068&xmax=-5720164.77 5277109&ymin=3815454.379977033&ymax=716 1561.73018802 - Mason born - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 2:25 pm: SAP Yes EV’s are heavier than their ICE models some by a lot the Hummer EV being 9,000+ lbs. However the Interstate and highways are designed for Semi truck traffic which range from 35,000lbs to 80,000lbs loaded. Therefore a couple thousand more pounds on a passenger vehicle is not going to do a noticeable change to road life. It might damage your driveway more but the public roads will be fine. - Huh? - Friday, Jul 14, 23 @ 3:43 pm: Mason Born - All IDOT pavement designs consider the existing and projected traffic volumes, including heavy commercial vehicles. As you said, the pavements will be fine. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.