EDF Report Highlights Clean Freight Initiatives Congress Could Fund

A new report by the Environmental Defense Fund highlights several clean freight initiatives Congress could fund as part of the upcoming transportation reauthorization bill.

The report, titled "The Good Haul," details 28 case studies, and calls for Congress to direct freight improvement funding to encourage clean freight solutions.

Recently, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) vowed to take up a transportation reauthorization bill this year, and the EPW Committee has initiated a series of hearings on issues to be addressed in the bill.

"This report provides a roadmap for modernizing the U.S. freight system, making it more reliable and faster, and reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution," said Kathryn Phillips, director of the California Transportation and Air Initiative at Environmental Defense Fund, whose staff produced the report. "House and Senate committees writing the transportation bill should ensure funding for freight improvement delivers environmental benefits too. This report shows it can be done."

The report points to the fact that U.S. freight movement represents 25 percent of transportation's contributions to greenhouse gases, and that by 2020, more than 90 million tons of freight are expected to move throughout the U.S., an 80 percent increase from 2002.

Many of the case studies highlighted in the report are geared toward the trucking industry. One initiative is the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach Clean Truck Program, which has already taken 2,000 dirty diesel trucks off the road, eliminating 80 percent of truck-related emissions.

The report also referred to the Clean Truck Plan of the Port of Seattle, a fee-free plan that allows truck drivers to turn their old trucks in for scrap. Truckers receive $5,000 or the Kelley Blue Book value, whichever is greater. All trucks must meet federal 1994 particulate matter 2.5 standards by 2010; 80 percent of trucks must meet federal 2007 standard by 2015; and all must meet the 2007 standard by 2017.

Incentive programs are another way to encourage clean truck emissions. Some of the examples the report provides include National Clean Diesel Emissions Reduction Program (DERA), which awards grants for emissions reduction projects; California's Carl Moyer Program, a lower-emission heavy-duty engine incentive program; and Boston's CleanAir Vehicles Program, in which Boston offers grants to pay for half the cost of any verified diesel retrofit device, while the vehicle owner pays the other half. The EPA estimates that by 2031, DERA-funded projects will have reduced 46,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 2,200 tons of particulate matter, the report says.

The report suggests that one way to reduce congestion and the emissions associated with it is through truck tolling programs, which can be used to alleviate congestion by encouraging off-peak travel times. California has its PierPass initiative at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. This program encourages truck drivers to transport cargo at night, preventing heavy congestion for Los Angeles commuters. Germany offers Toll Collect, a distance-based GPS truck tolling system that encourages the shift to cleaner engines through a category for engine emissions. According to the report, the cleanest Euro V truck engines have increased from less than 1 percent in 2005 to more than 50 percent in 2008.

Another way to reduce diesel emissions is through in-use diesel regulations, such as those in California and Tokyo, the report says. California developed its "Risk Reduction Plan to Reduce Particulate Matter Emissions from Diesel-Fueled Engines and Vehicles," or the Diesel Risk Reduction Plan (DRRP), in September 2000. As part of this program, one of the main strategies to reduce diesel particulate matter is to retrofit existing engines. In 2000, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) began a "Say No to Diesel Vehicles" campaign, which included an "Environmental Preservation Ordinance" to regulate nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from diesel engines.

EDF's report also highlighted the clean freight benefits of diesel-electric hybrid trucks; truckstop electrification, such as IdleAire technology; technological solutions and route optimization; and training programs that can encourage eco-driving.