CRA Passage Threatens Communities, Increases Pollution

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed a Congressional Review Act resolution (CRA) repealing the EPA’s Heavy-Duty NOx Final Rule. The CRA now heads to House of Representatives for a vote. President Biden has announced that he will veto the CRA if it passes the House. 

In December 2022, EPA finalized more protective nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions standards that will apply to new medium and heavy-duty diesel vehicles sold in model years 2027 and later, the first update to the standards in over 20 years. These NOx standards are an important part of a broader and critical set of EPA efforts to reduce tailpipe pollution from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. 

“NOx standards are needed to protect communities from harmful pollution,” Elizabeth Gore, EDF’s senior vice president for political affairs, said in a statement. “Tailpipe pollution causes adverse health impacts to people of all ages, and disproportionately harms those who live closest to our nation’s roads and highways, ports and freight depots.” 

Truck routes are more likely to run through the neighborhoods of people of color and those with lower incomes, causing disproportionate harm to those communities. In total, the EPA estimates these new protective NOx standards will prevent almost 3,000 deaths and numerous hospitalizations and respiratory illnesses each year by 2045.

On Tuesday, EDF released new research showing that some 15 million people live within a half-mile of a warehouse in 10 states across the country. The report, Making the Invisible Visible: Shining a Light on Warehouse Truck Air Pollution, provides a window into the burden of truck-related air pollution exposure experienced by people living in close proximity to warehouses. In many states, Black, Latino, Asian and American Indian communities and areas of low wealth are disproportionately exposed to this pollution. 

“The Inflation Reduction Act has changed the transportation landscape and will dramatically reduce the cost of zero-emitting vehicles,” Gore said. “It’s already accelerating deployment of clean trucks and buses and creating high-quality jobs across our nation. The industry shift to cleaner trucks is gaining momentum, as companies are spending tens of billions of dollars to manufacture and deploy medium and heavy-duty zero-emitting vehicles that will protect the public from the health impacts of tailpipe pollution.”