Heinrich, Carper, Markey, Padilla Applaud EPA’s Final Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Trucks and Buses
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Electrification Caucus, Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the EPW Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), also a member of the EPW Committee released the following statement today after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the final greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs).
Heavy-duty vehicles are responsible for one quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions from our nation’s transportation sector, affecting fenceline and frontline communities, which are disproportionately exposed to resulting air pollution. The final rule is expected to reduce cumulative emissions by 1 billion metric tons and projected to result in $300 million in annual public health benefits through 2055 and $3.5 billion in savings for truck owners over the lifetime of their vehicles.
“We commend the Environmental Protection Agency for taking an important step forward today to curb emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, like our school buses and freight trucks.
“This rule is a win-win. It will support the United States in reaching our climate goals while protecting the public health of Americans across the country. This rule will benefit disadvantaged communities located near freight corridors, which are disproportionately exposed to air pollution, and the millions of children who are currently riding dirty diesel buses to school each day.
“We thank the Biden Administration for their work to build a clean transportation future for America.”
Today’s announcement follows a September 2023 bicameral letter led by Heinrich, Carper, Markey, and Padilla to EPA urging the agency to finalize the strongest feasible greenhouse gas emission standards for HDVs as part of their Phase 3 rule.
Heinrich is a staunch advocate for federal investments that make electric vehicles more affordable and accessible for working families, as well as electric vehicle charging stations more available for New Mexicans. In January, Heinrich announced a historic $68 million in competitive federal grant funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program to build major new electric vehicle (EV) charging networks throughout New Mexico.
The largest portion of that funding will allow New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) to contract with a private partner, TeraWatt Infrastructure, to build the I-10 Electric Corridor, which will be the nation’s first network of high-powered charging centers for heavy-duty electric trucks. As part of this network, TeraWatt will build two electric vehicle charging centers for medium-and heavy-duty (MDHD) commercial vehicles conducting routes along Interstate 10 (I-10), located in unincorporated Hidalgo and Doña Ana Counties, near Lordsburg and Vado, N.M. The entire route will extend along the I-10 highway from the San Pedro ports in Southern California to the El Paso, Texas border region.