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  6	UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AGENCY

  7	PUBLIC HEARING

  8	WEDNESDAY JUNE 29, 2022

  9	For Consideration of Three Separate Waiver

 10	Requests from the California Air Resources

 11	Board (CARB) Regarding its Heavy-Duty

 12	Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations

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    I	N                                        D                                        E   X

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          PAGE

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  SPEAKERS:

                                       4

  Erik White

                                                                              3

                                       5

  Tracy Babbidge

                                                                              8

                                       6

  Yasmine Agelidis

                                                                             13

                                       7

  Diana Van Vleet

                                                                             18

                                       8

  Elizabeth Brandt

                                                                             21

                                       9

  Liz Scott

                                                                             25

10

  Daniel Cohen

                                                                             29

11

  Andrea Marpillero

 Colomina

                                                                             29

12

  Elizabeth Cerceo

                                                                             34

13

  Elizabeth Bechard

                                                                             39

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  Melody Reis

                                                                             43

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  Doug O'Malley

                                                                             46

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  Samantha Dynowski

                                                                             51

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  Kevin Garcia

                                                                             54

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  Ann Baskerville

                                                                             58

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  Jiyoon Chon

                                                                             61

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  Matt Scherr

                                                                             64

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  Bill Magavern

                                                                             68

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  Rasto Brezny

                                                                             70

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  Sam Wilson

                                                                             75

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  Bryan Burton

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  Lily Zwaan

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  Jed Mandel

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  Patrick Quinn

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  Glen Kedzie

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  Katherine Stainken

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  Rob Bonta

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  Liane Randolph

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  Alex Wang

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  Mary Greene

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  Dylan Jaff

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  Ameen Khan

                                                                            121

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  Katherine Garcia

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  Alejandra Ramirez-Zarate

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  Andy Su

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  1	(Virtual, via Zoom)

  2	Wednesday, June 29, 2022

  3	(At about 9:30 A.M.)

  4

  5	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

                 6	comment.	The next speaker will be Erik White.

                7	Please state your name and affiliation for the

  8	record.

                      9	MR. WHITE:	Good morning.	My name is

 10	Erik White.	I'm the director of the Placer County

 11	Air Pollution Control District in California.	I am

 12	testifying on behalf of the National Association of

 13	Clean Air Agencies or NACA, the national

 14	nonpartisan, non-profit association of air pollution

 15	control agencies in 40 states, including 117 local

 16	air agencies, the District of Columbia and four

 17	territories.

 18	Thank you for holding this hearing on

 19	three requests by the California Air Resources Board

 20	for EPA to grant waivers of preemption under Section

 21	209(b) of the Clean Air Act.	Today I will focus my

 22	testimony on CARB's request for a waiver for its

 23	Omnibus Low NOx Regulation.	NACA will provide

 24	additional comments on all three requests by the

              1	EPA to fulfill its statutory obligations and fully

  2	and promptly approve all three requests.

                   3	In the Clean Air Act Congress determined

              4	that the reduction of air pollution is the primary

  5	responsibility of states and local governments.	For

  6	NACA, protecting the Clean Air Act authorities

  7	vested by Congress in state and local agencies to

  8	take actions on their own, actions that are at least

  9	as rigorous as or go beyond federal requirements, is

 10	a top priority.

 11	Such authority is our pillar, not a

 12	quirk, of the Clean Air Act.	When state and local

 13	agencies are allowed to do laboratories of

 14	innovation and implement programs that best meet

 15	their needs and circumstances, everyone benefits.

 16	Although the Clean Air Act establishes a federal

 17	program to set minimum vehicle emission requirements

 18	to serve as a floor for state regulation, since 1967

 19	it has specifically authorized California, under the

 20	waiver of provisions of Section 209, to establish a

 21	more stringent state motor vehicle emissions control

 22	program under certain conditions.

 23	While consideration of the potential

 24	adverse impact on commerce of many different state

  1	states other than California, from adopting their

              2	own motor vehicle emission standards, Congress says

              3	in Section 177 of the act:	provide that each state

  4	is free to choose whether to enforce the Federal

  5	Emission's standards or California's, at least as

  6	protective in the aggregate standards, for new motor

  7	vehicles sold in state.

  8	NACA has a decade of long history of

              9	strongly supporting full and prompt EPA approval of

 10	CARB's waiver request and other states taking action

 11	under Section 177.	As established by Congress,

 12	EPA's rule of granting a waiver to California on the

 13	particular motor vehicle emissions rule is narrow

 14	deferential.	EPA is not to substitute its judgment

 15	for CARB's as to whether a standard is too

 16	technically challenging or expensive.

 17	Moreover, the EPA may not base its

 18	decision on statutes other than the Clean Air Act or

 19	other policy considerations.	Rather EPA must grant

 20	a waiver unless it can demonstrate that one or more

 21	of the three specific conditions of Section 209(b)

 22	of the act are not met.

 23	In August 2020 comments to CARB, NACA

 24	supported the state's proposed omnibus to reduce NOx

  1	recognize the urgent need for being omnibus in

              2	California beginning not later than model year 2024

               3	as was profound need for significant NOx emission

  4	reductions from heavy-duty trucks and engines

  5	nationwide beginning not later than model year 2027.

  6	Five states have already individually

               7	exercised their right of self-determination under

              8	Section 177 and joined California with adoption of

              9	the heavy-duty new vehicle policies of the Omnibus.

 10	A sixth state has passed legislation and others are

 11	pursuing or considering similar actions.	These

 12	states have chosen this path to best protect the

 13	health of their residents.

 14	NACA strongly supports adoption by EPA of

 15	a final federal rule by the end of this year with a

 16	NOx emissions standards of other program components

 17	described in our May 2022 comments on the agency's

 18	proposed heavy-duty truck rule to take effect with

 19	model year 2027.

 20	Further, we cannot overstate the need for

 21	EPA to grant California's waiver request for the

 22	Omnibus without delay so they can take effect on

 23	schedule for California and for the states that have

 24	exercised their Section 177 authority to adopt the

  1	other states to adopt, should the final federal rule

  2	be delayed, fall short on the rigor of the emission

              3	standards or program components or as a whole fail

  4	to achieve the necessary emission reductions.

  5	The Omnibus meets all the statutory

  6	criteria that EPA must consider, and the only

  7	criteria that EPA may consider when responding to a

  8	waiver request.	It is incumbent on EPA to take

  9	swift action to approve this waiver and for similar

 10	reasons the other two requested by California.

 11	Thank you.

 12	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 13	comment.	Our next speaker will be Tracy Babbidge.

 14	Please state your name and affiliation for the

 15	record.

 16	MS. BABBIDGE:	Good morning.	My name is

 17	Tracy Babbidge, and I'm the Air Bureau Chief for the

 18	Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental

 19	Protection.	I'm testifying today on behalf of the

 20	Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management,

 21	or NESCAUM, in support of EPA granting all three

 22	California waiver requests.

 23	The Connecticut Department of Energy and

 24	Environmental Protection is a member of NESCAUM,

               1	New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island

  2	and Vermont.	NESCAUM's member agencies have the

  3	primary responsibility in their states for

  4	implementing clean air programs that achieve the

  5	public health and environmental protection goals of

              6	the Federal Clean Air Act, including attaining and

  7	maintaining compliance with national ambient air

  8	quality standards.

  9	For decades California's authority under

 10	the Clean Air Act has been recognized by Congress

 11	and EPA on a bipartisan basis as a vital part of our

 12	nation's response to air pollution.	By including

 13	sections 209 and 177 in the Clean Air Act, Congress

 14	understood the important role that states have in

 15	protecting public health and welfare by clearly

 16	authorizing California to adopt its own motor

 17	vehicle emission standards and allowing other states

 18	to adopt identical standards.

 19	Seventeen states and the District of

 20	Columbia have previously exercised their authority

 21	under Section 177 to adopt California motor vehicle

 22	emission standards in lieu of the federal standards.

 23	Together with California they represent over

 24	140 million people and 40 percent of the new

  1	have delivered dramatic air quality and public

               2	health benefits and have made the United States a

  3	leader on clean vehicles worldwide.

                  4	EPA is required to grant California's

               5	waiver request under Section 209 where the agency

  6	has found that the state has a compelling and

              7	extraordinary need for such standards and that its

               8	approach is at least as stringent as the federal

              9	one, so long has California has not been arbitrary

 10	and capricious.	California has fully satisfied

 11	those conditions in all three waiver requests.

 12	The California rules at issue here go

 13	beyond the pollution reductions achievable through

 14	federal requirements because California's NOx

 15	entered standards take effect earlier in time than

 16	the proposed federal requirements, and California's

 17	zero emission vehicle requirements are not found in

 18	federal rules.	There are multiple clean air and

 19	climate drivers for state adoption of California's

 20	Clean Truck requirements encompassed by the waiver

 21	request.

 22	Cleaner trucks are needed to address

 23	longstanding air quality problems in overburdened

 24	communities.	Low income communities and communities

  1	and hubs, ports and warehouses.	These communities

  2	are often disproportionately affected by diesel

  3	exhaust emissions and increased health burdens due

  4	to poor air quality in US cities.	Health and

               5	economic impacts include increases in asthma and

  6	other respiratory illnesses, especially in children

               7	and older adults, leading to additional trips to

  8	emergency rooms, missed days of school and work and

  9	thousands of premature deaths each year.

 10	The NESCAUM states need emission

 11	reductions of nitrogen oxides or NOx from the

 12	California mobile source programs because the New

 13	York City region and all of Connecticut failed to

 14	meet the ozone max.	NOx is the critical precursor

 15	of ozone formation on a regional scale.	On-road

 16	diesel vehicles are the third largest NOx emission

 17	source in the northeast.

 18	On April 13, 2022, EPA proposed

 19	reclassifying the Connecticut, New York, Northern

 20	New Jersey, Long Island 2008 ozone max nonattainment

 21	area from serious to severe nonattainment status.

 22	Also on April 13th EPA proposed reclassifying the

 23	greater Connecticut nonattainment area along with a

 24	number of other population centers in the northeast

  1	ozone max to moderate nonattainment.

  2	Because of the large share of NOx

  3	emissions from on-road trucks in the northeast, the

  4	states will be hard pressed to attain healthy air

                5	quality levels without deep NOx reductions from

               6	these emission sources in combination with other

  7	state and federal measures.	Implementation of

  8	California's mobile source programs are also a core

  9	part of NESCAUM's state plans to cut transportation

 10	emissions to achieve their science-based targets to

 11	reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by

 12	2050 and to meet aggressive near-term targets.

 13	Recognizing the critical need for

 14	additional medium and heavy-duty vehicle emission

 15	reduction, 17 states and DC have committed, through

 16	the multi-state medium and heavy-duty zero emissions

 17	(ZEV) MOU to achieve 30 percent of sales of new,

 18	medium and heavy-duty vehicles and ZEVs sales by

 19	2030 and a hundred percent of sales of ZEVs by no

 20	later than 2050.	State adoption of California's

 21	programs provides the market certainty needed to

 22	drive investments in zero emission technologies and

 23	is a key strategy for states to achieve these goals.

 24	In conclusion NESCAUM requests that EPA

  1	matter of law, science and public health need.

  2	Thank you.

  3	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

  4	comment.	As a reminder if you are speaking today,

  5	you will receive a notification on your screen that

  6	you are being promoted to panelist shortly prior to

  7	your speaking time.	You must click that

  8	notification to be able to unmute and turn on your

  9	camera, if you so choose, when you're called to

 10	testify.

 11	Speakers connected by telephone can

 12	unmute their phones by pressing *6 when called to

 13	testify, and you'll be given that ability when we

 14	call you to testify.

 15	And then as another friendly reminder,

 16	you know, keep your speech clear and slow so we can

 17	give our interpreters and court reporter some

 18	ability to capture your testimony.

 19	All right, our next speaker will be

 20	Yasmine Agelidis.	Please state your name and

 21	affiliation for the record.

 22	MS. AGELIDIS:	Good morning.	My name is

 23	Yasmine Agelidis.	I'm an attorney with Earth

 24	Justice, and I live and work in Los Angeles,

  1	I am testifying today, alongside my

               2	colleagues and allies across the country, to urge

  3	EPA to grant each of the three waivers that

  4	California is seeking for its heavy-duty truck

  5	rules.

                  6	EPA's decision on this issue will have

               7	far-reaching impacts because these standards are

  8	leading manufacturers to put more zero emission

             9	trucks on our nation's roads.	Every one of these

 10	rules is doing more to protect our communities, our

 11	air and our climate pollution, and our climate from

 12	pollution and federal rules and this is, you know,

 13	by design.	For EPA to take any other action than

 14	simply approving all three waivers would have

 15	disastrous consequences for every American.	So my

 16	request is simple.	Please grant each of

 17	California's heavy-duty truck waiver requests.

 18	Pollution from trucks has devastating

 19	life-long consequences.	The freight industry is

 20	poisoning people, and sadly it's only getting worse.

 21	As an example, in Southern California we

 22	experience some of the worst ozone pollution in the

 23	country.	The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

 24	handle about 40 percent of all shipping containers

               1	put on the backs of what are almost always diesel

  2	powered class 7 tractor-trailers or trains, and then

  3	they travel across Southern California's highways to

  4	warehouses where the goods are repackaged and

            5	distributed across the country to people's homes.

  6	All the while, a thousand or more of

               7	these heavy-duty trucks are traveling on highways

            8	that are many times just feet from people's homes,

               9	schools, workplaces, grocery stores and churches.

 10	It is unsafe to breath this much pollution in, and

 11	people that live and work near these diesel death

 12	zones are inundated by this diesel pollution every

 13	day.

 14	Rates of asthma, lung disease and cancer

 15	are higher in these communities because they are

 16	being poisoned.	Trucking pollution is as much a

 17	racial justice issue as it is an environmental

 18	justice issue.	The people who live near these

 19	diesel death zones and next to highways, ports and

 20	rail yards are not wealthy and white most times.

 21	These trucks don't run through Beverly Hills.

 22	Instead they crisscross through residential streets

 23	and highways where mostly low-income communities of

 24	color live, thanks to decades old racist zoning

  1	So our communities and our states should

              2	have access to policies and programs that call for

               3	the most stringent pollution reductions possible.

              4	Congress gave California authority to set emission

  5	standards that go above and beyond those set by EPA

              6	so that it can be a leader and push the automobile

               7	and trucking industries to clean up its equipment

  8	even faster than the federal government.

  9	By adopting the Heavy-Duty Low NOx

 10	Omnibus rule with a zero emission advanced clean

 11	truck rule, as well as other clean air rules,

 12	California has been doing just that.	It has been

 13	fulfilling its duty and leading the nation to clean

 14	up air pollution and to manufacture zero emission

 15	trucks.

 16	The Biden administration says that one of

 17	its top priorities is to address environmental

 18	injustice issues, and granting these three waivers

 19	is an essential step that EPA must take to address

 20	the pollution crisis from the freight sector.	On

 21	top of this, approving these rules is all the more

 22	important because, you know, frankly EPA has done so

 23	little to address emissions from trucks and other

 24	freight equipment.

  1	emission trucks, even though this is the only way to

  2	prevent massive harms to communities on the front

  3	lines in the freight industry.	You know, it should

  4	be a no brainer, and we really hope that it is, that

  5	EPA and the Biden administration continue to follow

  6	decades long precedent and approve these waivers,

  7	especially because they will lead to more zero

  8	emission trucks and cleaner air.

  9	Moreover, it's important to note, as

 10	well, that Californians are not the only ones who

 11	stand to benefit from EPA's approval of these

 12	life-preserving rules.	So people across the country

 13	also have a tremendous amount to gain or to lose,

 14	depending on whether EPA chooses to stand up to or

 15	to concede to industry.	So many other states have

 16	already adopted California's Heavy-Duty Low NOx

 17	Omnibus Rule and zero emission advanced Clean Trucks

 18	rule.

 19	So whatever decision the EPA makes will

 20	reverberate across the country.	In fact, EPA's

 21	decision on this matter is going to impact all

 22	communities and needs for zero emission trucks in

 23	the United States.

 24	So in sum, please grant the waivers for

  1	communities can trust that their air is going to be

  2	cleaner, industry can get the signal that zero

  3	emissions is the future and it's happening now, and

  4	California can get back to work on adopting

  5	lifesaving, health-preserving rules that will clean

  6	the air for all of us.	Thank you.

  7	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

  8	comment.	Our next speaker will be Diana Von Vleet.

  9	Please state your name and affiliation for the

 10	record.

 11	MS. VAN VLEET:	Good morning.	I'm

 12	Diana Van Vleet, national director of outreach and

 13	engagement for the American Lung Association's

 14	Healthy Air Campaign.	Today, I'm speaking in strong

 15	support of EPA's granting California's use cleaner

 16	trucks waivers without delay so states can implement

 17	these critical public health policies.	Thank you so

 18	much for holding this public hearing and allowing us

 19	the opportunity to share our feedback on this very

 20	important matter.

 21	You have heard and will hear from many of

 22	my Lung Association colleagues today.	They will

 23	share more information about the specific health

              1	on communities of color and low income communities,

              2	the local health benefits of transitioning to zero

              3	emission transportation, the health impacts we see

  4	on the ground in communities across the country, the

            5	history of California's waiver under the Clean Air

  6	Act and more.

                    7	I will specifically talk about why this

               8	issue is personal to me.	My husband and I live in

  9	Washington, DC and we plan on having children in the

 10	near future.	We live near a major street in DC

 11	where many trucks pass by throughout the day,

 12	spewing lots of dark and pungent exhausts into the

 13	air.	There's some days, especially in winter, when

 14	a truck passes by and you can see the exhaust coming

 15	out of your mouth when you exhale.

 16	Transportation pollution is the dominant

 17	source of both climate pollution and smog forming

 18	NOx.	The trucking sector is the major source of

 19	regional air pollution that threatens health,

 20	despite trucks making out the small percentage of

 21	the on-road vehicle population.	Burning gasoline

 22	and diesel fuel also contributes particulate matter

 23	and volatile organic compounds or VOCs.

  1	risk.	Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is

  2	strongly associated with premature birth, low birth

  3	rate and still birth.	As someone who has

  4	experienced pregnancy loss, I am terrified of

  5	anything that could harm another pregnancy.	I avoid

  6	heavily traffic streets as much as I can, but living

  7	in the city that isn't always possible.

  8	And I know that there are many more

  9	communities in this country where residents face

 10	even worse pollution from trucks.	For many, myself

 11	included, simply relocating out of the city to an

 12	area with less pollution is not feasible, especially

 13	for those living below the federal poverty level.

 14	Relocation could mean cutting off access to job

 15	opportunities, family or child care.	But it doesn't

 16	have to be this way.

 17	In DC we are eager to see the adoption

 18	and implementation of cleaner trucking rules to

 19	ensure our citizens enjoy the benefit of cleaner

 20	engines and zero emission technologies.	The Lung

 21	Association estimates that DC could experience 1.7

 22	billion in health benefits through the shift to zero

 23	emission technologies.	Furthermore, the Lung

  1	billion in health benefits from this shift.

  2	The Lung Association is committed to

  3	pushing DC and Virginia to act on these rules so

  4	that all of their residents breathe healthier air.

  5	I urge EPA to grant the cleaner trucks waivers

  6	without delay to ensure the air quality, public

  7	health and environmental justice benefits of these

  8	rules.	Thank you so much for your time.

  9	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 10	comment.	Our next speaker will be Elizabeth Grant.

 11	Please state your name and affiliation for the

 12	record.

 13	MS. BRANDT:	My name is Elizabeth Brandt,

 14	E-L-I-Z-A-B-E-T-H B-R-A-N-D-T.	Hello, and thank you

 15	for listening to my testimony today.	My name is

 16	Elizabeth Brandt.	I'm a social worker and national

 17	field manager for Mom's Clean Air Force.

 18	Mom's Clean Air Force is an organization

 19	of more than one million parents across America who

 20	are taking action against air pollution and climate

 21	change.	I thank this administration for acting

 22	swiftly on a national Clean Trucks plan, but I am

 23	concerned that EPA might not approve California's

  1	other states to create the strongest possible limits

  2	on heavy-duty vehicle pollution and rules to

  3	accelerate the transition to zero emission vehicles.

  4	We need to clean the air as soon as possible.	In

  5	California's authority under the Clean Air Act to

  6	set more stringent emission standards is crucial to

  7	clean the air throughout all of the Section 177

  8	states.

  9	I live in Maryland, and I'm proud that my

 10	state has chosen to protect us from pollution by

 11	setting stricter vehicle emission standards, as

 12	allowed by Section 177 of the Clean Air Act.	In

 13	fact, Maryland is moving toward adopting one of the

 14	waivers on heavy-duty vehicle pollution that is at

 15	issue in this rulemaking.

 16	Last summer, I spent some time in Central

 17	Los Angeles helping my friend Margaret with her

 18	foster baby.	My friend's apartment is across the

 19	street from Interstate 5.	A busy city park with

 20	soccer fields and a senior center is just over the

 21	fence from the freeway.	This is a picture of

 22	environmental injustice.	Just think of what the

 23	soccer players on that field breathe in every day,

                   1	This year Los Angeles ranked as the most

              2	polluted city in America for smog ozone, a ranking

         3	it's earned many times before.	It's also receiving

              4	an F for particle pollution from the American Lung

  5	Association.

                    6	L.A. is an extreme case, but so are the

  7	other seven California cities that round out the

  8	American Lung Association's top ten list of

               9	smoggiest cities.	I applaud California for taking

 10	decisive action to fix this situation.	The state of

 11	California must protect its residents, and these

 12	waivers are just one way in which California is

 13	trying to do so.	The EPA must not stand in the way.

 14	While California represents a very

 15	difficult air quality scenario, cities across

 16	America face the same challenges.	Much of our

 17	affordable housing stock is a stone's throw from a

 18	major highway or truck route.	In my former life as

 19	a social worker for Washington State, I saw this all

 20	the time.	In Seattle high schools, medical clinics,

 21	nursing homes and foster homes all have major truck

 22	routes on I-5.	I'm glad my home state has chosen to

 23	adopt the Advanced Clean Trucks rule.

                   1	EPA must issue these waivers quickly and

  2	in full to deliver on President Biden's climate

  3	environmental justice commitments.	Any delay in

  4	implementation of California's Clean Truck rules

  5	will cause harm to tens of millions of Americans who

  6	live near high traffic corridors, including many

  7	environmental justice communities, and set back

  8	greenhouse gas emissions reductions from the

  9	transportation sector.

 10	The facts are clear.	Exposure to diesel

 11	soot pollution causes asthma, lung disease and

 12	death.	Giving states the option to adopt the

 13	earliest and -- the earliest and strongest possible

 14	clean electric truck standards is necessary to fight

 15	environmental racism and provide relief to freight

 16	corridor communities.

 17	Vehicle manufacturers have the technology

 18	to meet the goals of California's rules, and many

 19	recent analyses have shown that fully zero emission

 20	trucks will be cheaper to purchase and operate than

 21	diesel trucks within the time frame of these

 22	standards.	Truck companies are already investing in

 23	this technology.	Pilot programs across the country

  1	putting in orders.	There is no reason to delay the

  2	implementation of lifesaving cleaner truck

  3	technologies.

  4	With all this said, I want to thank you

  5	for your time and thank you for translating my

  6	words, as well.	And I want to encourage the EPA to

  7	grant all of these waivers in full.	Thank you so

  8	much.

  9	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 10	comment.	Our next speaker will be Liz Scott.

 11	Please state your name and affiliation for the

 12	record.

 13	MS. SCOTT:	Good morning.	My name is

 14	Liz Scott, and I'm the national director of advocacy

 15	for the American Lung Association's Healthy Air

 16	Campaign.	I strongly support the U.S. Environmental

 17	Protection Agency granting California's cleaner

 18	truck waivers without delay.

 19	Transportation pollution is a leading

 20	cause of both air and climate pollution, and trucks

 21	are the most visibly obvious effectors.	Even though

 22	there are more light-duty vehicles on the road, the

 23	heavy-duty vehicles are the ones that you can

                     1	Allowing California to adopt stronger

  2	standards will lead to extensive health benefits,

  3	not just in the state that has some of the

  4	unhealthiest levels of air pollution, but also

  5	across the country as California sets an example of

  6	what could be achieved.

  7	I recently moved from DC out to Bethesda,

  8	Maryland.	Even though our neighborhood in DC was

                9	much quieter with less traffic than some of the

 10	livelier parts of the city, I was so excited to move

 11	away from being right next to multiple bus stops and

 12	on a road that saw large delivery trucks roll

 13	through on a daily basis.	We did get a reprieve in

 14	some ways.	Instead of walking out our front door

 15	and seeing the plumes of diesel smoke from busses, I

 16	see greenery and nature.	But the damage of

 17	transportation pollution is still ever present.

 18	Our apartment complex backs up against

 19	I-270.	And while I can't see it, I know that the

 20	air I'm breathing is not clean.	In the American

 21	Lung Association's State of the Air 2022 report,

 22	Montgomery County just barely got a passing grade

 23	for ozone pollution.	And the broader metro area

                  1	I'm also from Maryland originally and

  2	have family living in Hartford County, Maryland.	I

  3	always viewed the town where I grew up to be much

  4	less urban than DC or even where I am now.	But

  5	Hartford County, which is at the pinpoint downwind

  6	from the DC metro area, received an F grade for

  7	ozone or smog pollution.

  8	The state of Maryland would benefit

  9	greatly from having the ability to adopt

 10	California's strong truck standards.	According to

 11	the zeroing in on Healthy Air report from the

 12	American Lung Association, a full transition to zero

 13	emission transportation and electricity, including

 14	medium and heavy-duty vehicles, would create

 15	27.8 billion dollars in health benefits, avoid 2,540

 16	deaths, prevent 63,600 asthma attacks and avoid

 17	315,000 missed work days just in Maryland alone.

 18	Nationally, the country could see up to 1.2 trillion

 19	dollars in public health benefits by 2050.

 20	The report also looked at the 500 U.S.

 21	counties with the highest percent populations of

 22	people of color would experience 40 percent of the

 23	total health benefits, despite making up only 16

  1	adopted these stronger standards, we would not only

  2	see health benefits, we would also be making

              3	progress towards reducing contributions to climate

  4	change.

  5	We are in the thick of allergy season

  6	here in Maryland.	As a perpetual allergy sufferer,

  7	seeing that climate change is making allergy seasons

  8	longer and more severe is not welcome news.

                    9	Additionally, Maryland is an absolutely

 10	beautiful state, and my favorite parts of it are

 11	down on the shore.	My family practically lived

 12	there in the summer while growing up.	A couple of

 13	times over the past few years Maryland has

 14	experienced some extreme flooding, which put some of

 15	my favorite places that hold so many happy memories

 16	at risk.

 17	Transitioning to zero emission

 18	transportation is one of the most important steps we

 19	can take to improve local air quality and to address

 20	climate change.	The California rules and the

 21	Advanced Clean Truck standards together will save

 22	thousands of lives and generate billions in public

 23	health benefits, particularly for communities that

  1	I join my colleagues and others in

  2	calling on EPA to grant these waivers immediately so

  3	that California and other states can move forward

  4	with these strong public health rules.	Thank you so

  5	much for your time.

  6	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

  7	comment.	Our next speaker will be Daniel Cohen.

  8	Please state your name and affiliation for the

  9	record.

 10	MR. COHEN:	Daniel Cohen, The Cullen Law

 11	Firm.	I would like to yield our time to other

 12	speakers.	We'll reserve the opportunity to submit

 13	written comments.	And I see that Paul Cullen is the

 14	second speaker designated after me, and he will

 15	yield his time, as well.	Thank you.

 16	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you.	Our next

 17	speaker -- just give me one second.	Our next

 18	speaker will be Andrea Marpillero Colomina.	Please

 19	state your name and affiliation for the record.

 20	MS. MARPILLERO COLOMINA:	I needed a

 21	moment, too.	Can you all hear me?

 22	THE MODERATOR:	Yes, we can.

 23	MS. MARPILLERO COLOMINA:	Good morning.

  1	sustainable communities program director at

               2	GreenLatinos.	GreenLatinos is an active community

              3	of Latino environmental and conservation champions.

  4	We fight against climate change of environmental

  5	degradation and intensifies the systemic social

              6	health and economic injustices in our communities.

                    7	I want to thank this administration for

              8	acting swiftly on Clean Trucks, and I urge the EPA

  9	to approve California's waiver request in full,

 10	allowing the state to create the strongest possible

 11	limits on heavy-duty vehicle pollution and rules to

 12	accelerate the transition to zero emissions

 13	vehicles.

 14	We all know the facts here.	We are

 15	facing a climate emergency.	We need to clean the

 16	air as soon as possible.	And California's authority

 17	under the Clean Air Act to set more stringent

 18	emissions standards is crucial to cleaning the air

 19	throughout all Section 177 states.

 20	Vehicle manufacturers have the technology

 21	to meet the goals of California's rules, and many

 22	recent analyses have shown that fully zero emission

 23	trucks will be cheaper to purchase and operate than

  1	The EPA must issue these waivers quickly

  2	and in full to deliver on President Biden's

  3	commitment to the authority of states to protect

                4	their vulnerable populations and to address the

  5	climate crisis.

  6	Any delay in implementation of

  7	California's Clean Trucks rules will cause harm to

                8	the tens of millions of Americans who live near

  9	high-traffic corridors, including many environmental

 10	justice communities, and it will set back greenhouse

 11	gas emission reductions from the transportation

 12	sector.

 13	The EPA's potential denial of the

 14	California waiver requests represent a serious

 15	attack on the health and well being of front line

 16	communities.	Diesel trucks are so dangerous to

 17	public health that areas with heavy truck traffic

 18	are called diesel death zones, because the exposure

 19	to diesel soot pollution causes asthma, lung disease

 20	and death.

 21	Passing stronger zero emission truck

 22	standards and cleaning up our air is a necessary

 23	step in addressing the effects of environmental

  1	Smog and soot air pollution caused by

              2	trucks and busses are among the greatest threats to

  3	public health for more than 45 million people in the

  4	United States who live within 300 feet of a major

  5	roadway or transportation facility.

  6	Fundamentally, this is an environmental

  7	justice and public health issue.	There is an urgent

  8	need to create and support the implementation of

  9	stringent heavy-duty vehicle standards to mitigate

 10	emissions impasse in Latino and other

 11	disproportionately impacted communities.

 12	Just a snippet of data illustrates a dire

 13	reality.	A nationwide study found that Latino

 14	children are three times more likely than

 15	non-Hispanic white children to live in counties

 16	where air quality standards are exceeded, and nearly

 17	a third of Latino children live in counties where

 18	the hazardous air pollutant concentrations exceed a

 19	1 in 10,000 cancer risk level.	Latino children are

 20	twice as likely to visit the emergency room for

 21	asthma, and they are twice as likely to die from

 22	asthma as their white counterparts.

 23	A delay in implementing clean trucks and

  1	impacts of environmental racism, redlining and

                 2	generations of marginalization that make them

  3	vulnerable to pollution from trucks.

                      4	The disproportionate impact of air

              5	pollution is the clearest example of environmental

  6	racism in our country.	Disadvantaged communities

              7	would benefit most from a mass move to electrified

  8	transportation, not just for the health benefits,

  9	but economically, as well, with a higher proportion

 10	of job growth and larger per capita economic gains

 11	compared to the rest of the state's population.

 12	For more than 50 years U.S. states have

 13	had the explicit right oriented under the Clean Air

 14	Act to protect their residents' health by choosing

 15	Clean Truck standards that are safer than the

 16	federal standards.

 17	The urgency here is crystal clear.

 18	Unlike the air people living in our communities

 19	currently breathe, I urge --

 20	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 21	comment, and I apologize for interrupting.	EPA

 22	needs to keep these statements to five minutes.	I

 23	realize the timer was a little off, so fault me

  1	thank you very much.	Our lives literally depend on

  2	it.	Thank you.

  3	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you.	Our next

  4	speaker will be Paul Cullen, but I can't find you in

  5	our list of attendees.	Can you please raise your

  6	hand if you've joined under another name?	There's a

  7	hand raise button at the bottom of your screen.

  8	KARL SIMON:	Jesse, I thought Paul was

  9	going to yield his time from Dan's comment.

 10	THE MODERATOR:	I think that was -- my

 11	understanding was that that was just Daniel, but we

 12	will hear in a second.

 13	MR. COHEN:	I'm sorry, Dan Cohen again.

 14	Yes, I did yield Paul Cullen's time, as well.

 15	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for clarifying.

 16	MR. COHEN:	Thank you.

 17	THE MODERATOR:	All right, our next

 18	speaker will be Elizabeth Cerceo.	You should see an

 19	invitation on your screen.	Please go ahead and

 20	accept that.	Thank you.

 21	MS. CERCEO:	Hello, can you hear me?

 22	THE MODERATOR:	Yes, we can.

  1	I'm testifying in my individual capacity and not on

  2	behalf of my employer in support of California's

  3	authority to enforce critical truck emission

  4	standards, including the Advanced Clean Trucks and

  5	Heavy-Duty Omnibus rules.	I also speak as the

  6	(inaudible) for the American College of Physicians

  7	in New Jersey, as well as Clinicians for Climate

  8	Action New Jersey.

  9	As a doctor and a mother of six it's of

 10	the utmost importance to me that our communities,

 11	especially our vulnerable, underserved and

 12	environmental justice communities are protected

 13	against the cumulative impacts of pollution and

 14	toxicity.

 15	I have seen firsthand the impacts of air

 16	pollution on my patients with recurring admissions

 17	for emphysema, bronchitis, lung cancer, all in

 18	patients with no smoking history.	My apologies, I'm

 19	trying to get that video started, but it doesn't

 20	seem to be working.

 21	That's my -- the focus of my remarks

 22	today will be primarily on health and why it's so

  1	In New Jersey mobile sources are not only

  2	a serious climate concern, but they are also a major

  3	source of fine particulate matter air pollution.	In

  4	fact, New Jersey has one of the highest

  5	concentrations of PM 2.5 in the U.S.

  6	In 2017 data showed that mobile sources

  7	contributed 71 percent of nitrogen oxides and 27

  8	percent of PM 2.5 statewide.	Trucks are a primary

               9	culprit when it comes to this local air pollution

 10	due to their reliance on combusting diesel fuel.

 11	In New Jersey we're fortunate to follow

 12	California's more stringent emission regulations and

 13	at the end of last year adopted the Advanced Clean

 14	Trucks rule.	From a health standpoint I cannot

 15	stress how important it is that we be able to

 16	enforce this rule without delay.	The transition

 17	away from polluting trucks must reflect the urgency

 18	of the health crisis to which they contribute.

 19	It's well documented in the health and

 20	scientific literature, as well as by the numerous

 21	speakers on this meeting, that these pollutants are

 22	linked to respiratory, cardiovascular disease such

  1	and a new study demonstrates that more than 20,000

  2	people die prematurely every year as a result of the

  3	health burden from vehicle pollution on U.S. roads,

  4	demonstrating the severity on this sector of human

  5	health.

  6	There was a study published in Nature

  7	Aging that I was just recently reading demonstrating

  8	the short-term exposure to polluted air, even at

  9	levels generally considered acceptable, can impair

 10	mental ability in the elderly.	Thus, these impacts

 11	are far reaching.

 12	What's more, the pollution impacts from

 13	mobile sources are deeply inequitable.	The

 14	communities most burdened by truck pollution are

 15	predominantly communities of color and low-income

 16	communities.

 17	The recent report by the Union of

 18	Concerned Scientists that confirmed that Asian

 19	Americans, African-Americans and Latino residents

 20	from across the country are exposed to 34 percent,

 21	24 percent and 23 percent more PM 2.5 respectively

 22	from cars, trucks and busses than the national

              1	hospitalization rates highest in poor communities,

  2	including Cumberland, Camden and Essex County.

              3	About one in three children in Newark have asthma,

  4	which is a rate three times higher than the national

               5	average.	And those children are hospitalized for

  6	asthma at a rate 30 times higher the national rate.

                    7	In 2019 two children in Newark died of

  8	acute exacerbations of chronic asthma.	All this

               9	should be sounding alarm bells.	Things should not

 10	and do not have to be this way.

 11	The proposed regulations for which

 12	California has submitted waivers are feasible,

 13	economic and represent a timely means of achieving

 14	necessary reductions in air pollution and improving

 15	public health, especially for our most vulnerable

 16	residents.

 17	I hope to see EPA and the states go even

 18	further by taking the lead from environmental

 19	justice communities as to what they would like to

 20	see in this space, especially in terms of achieving

 21	mandatory emissions reductions in particular

 22	communities above and beyond what the ACT and the

              1	as the residents in all the other states that have

  2	already adopted these crucial truck regulations.

                    3	Electric trucks are here and ready, but

  4	without these regulations the market is not going to

               5	move fast enough and communities will continue to

  6	breathe deeply health damaging air.	One in five

  7	premature deaths are attributable to air pollution,

              8	and every day that passes, more and more Americans

  9	are breathing in more particulate matter, more

 10	ozone, more nitrogen dioxide.

 11	Please do not be swayed by large

 12	corporations and the fossil fuel industry.	I have

 13	taken an oath to do no harm to my patients, and

 14	those entrusted with protecting the environment have

 15	similar responsibilities and honors.	Thank you very

 16	much for your time and consideration this morning.

 17	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 18	comment.	As a friendly reminder, please speak

 19	slowly and clearly so the court reporter and

 20	interpreters can accurately capture your testimony,

 21	just a little bit slower than you think you need to

 22	speak.	Really, really appreciate it.	Thank you.

  1	MS. BECHARD:	Good morning, y'all.	Thank

  2	you for the opportunity to testify.	My name is

  3	Elizabeth Bechard.	My pronouns are she and her, and

  4	I'm a senior policy analyst at Mom's Clean Air

  5	Force, a graduate student in public health and the

  6	mother of two young children.

  7	I'm here today to thank this

  8	administration for acting quickly to clean up truck

  9	pollution, but urge EPA to approve California's

 10	waiver request in full.	This will allow the state

 11	to create the strongest possible limits on

 12	heavy-duty vehicle pollution and rules to accelerate

 13	the transition to zero emissions vehicles.

 14	We are at a critical moment in the

 15	climate crisis, and we need to clear the air and

 16	reduce greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible,

 17	preserving California's authority under the Clean

 18	Air Act to set more stringent emissions standards as

 19	a climate and public health opportunity that we

 20	cannot afford to get wrong.

  1	Tens of millions of Americans live in

  2	high traffic areas where communities breathe

  3	polluted air that affects their respiratory,

  4	cardiovascular and mental health on a daily basis.

  5	This dirty air is so dangerous that areas with heavy

  6	truck traffic are called diesel death zones, as

  7	several of my colleagues have named this morning

  8	already, because diesel soot pollution contributes

  9	to asthma, chronic lung disease and premature

 10	deaths.	No child should have to live in an area

 11	nicknamed a death zone.

 12	Children in environmental justice

 13	communities will also bear the brunt of the health

 14	impacts of climate change, including the physical

 15	and mental trauma from exposure to extreme weather

 16	conditions like wildfires, hurricanes and extreme

 17	heat.	Any delay in implementing California's Clean

 18	Truck rules will set back greenhouse gas emissions

 19	reduction from the transportation sector at a

 20	critical moment in the climate movement when we

              1	including the news that is probably dropping right

  2	this very moment, reminds us that we are all

               3	connected.	What we do about climate change in the

               4	United States will affect the entire planet.	And

  5	what one state does about climate change can affect

  6	every other state.

                 7	So California's authority to set strong

               8	truck pollution standards benefits all of us.	So

            9	it's absolutely critical that the EPA issues these

             10	waivers quickly and in full to deliver on President

 11	Biden's commitment to the authority of states to

 12	protect their vulnerable populations and address the

 13	climate crisis.

 14	For over 50 years U.S. states have had

 15	the explicit right granted under the Clean Air Act

 16	to protect their residents' health by choosing clean

 17	truck standards that are safer than the federal

 18	standards.	And currently six states, which

 19	represent more than 20 percent of the medium and

             20	heavy-duty truck market, have committed to adopting                                           1	Carolina, are working on adoption.	States want

  2	clean air and climate action.	Parents, children,

  3	humans across the country want clean air and climate

  4	action, and allowing states to set strong truck

  5	pollution standards is critical to our health, to

  6	our future and to the administration's commitment to

  7	environmental justice.

  8	In conclusion, as a citizen and as a

  9	mother, I urge this administration to approve the

 10	waivers in full to grant California the authority to

 11	create lifesaving rules and reduce deadly truck

 12	pollution and to accelerate the transition to zero

 13	emission electric trucks and buses.	Thank you for

 14	the opportunity to testify.

 15	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 16	comment.	Our next speaker will be Melody Reis.

 17	Please state your name and affiliation for the

 18	record.

 19	MS. REIS:	Hi, my name is Melody Reis.	I

 20	am the senior legislative manager for Mom's Clean

  1	climate change.	We believe that everyone has the

  2	right to breathe clean air.

  3	The heavy-duty vehicles that California

  4	seeks to regulate are a primary source of toxic

  5	tailpipe emissions, including nitrogen oxides, brown

  6	level ozone and particulate matter.	These

  7	pollutants affect the health of children and

  8	families, harming developing lungs, increasing the

  9	risk of bronchitis, asthma, respiratory infections

 10	and even heart disease and cancer.

 11	Communities most affected by these

 12	dangerous pollutants, neighborhoods located near

 13	ports and shipping hubs, have been referred to as

 14	asthma alleys and diesel death zones due to the

 15	serious health effects suffered by residents.

 16	Unsurprisingly, these communities have

 17	historically housed low-income families and people

 18	of color, making this a clear example of

 19	environmental injustice.

 20	Moreover, though heavy-duty vehicles make

              1	fund, emissions from trucks are the fastest growing

              2	source of greenhouse gases, and significant growth

  3	in truck miles traveled is predicted over the coming

  4	decades.	Fortunately, we have readily available

  5	technologies that would cut harmful emissions,

              6	reduce climate impacts and improve health outcomes.

              7	Cleaner vehicles are here and states are demanding

  8	them.

  9	This administration has praised

 10	California for its leadership in reducing pollution

 11	from cars and trucks and has expressed its

 12	commitment to addressing both environmental justice

 13	and climate change.

 14	The time to act is now.	With communities

 15	suffering from poor air quality and with worsening

 16	climate outcomes, including drought, extreme heat

 17	and wildfires, we simply cannot delay.	States must

 18	have the ability to enact strong emission standards.

 19	I urge this administration to approve the waivers in

 20	full, and thank you again for the opportunity to

              1	Shortly prior to your speaking time you must click

              2	to accept that invitation to be able to unmute when

  3	you are called to testify.	This will also allow you

  4	to turn on your camera, which we encourage you to do

  5	if you feel comfortable doing so.	Speakers

  6	connected by telephone should unmute their phones by

  7	pressing *6 when they are called to testify.

                   8	And as another friendly reminder, please

              9	speak slowly and clearly for our court reporter and

 10	interpreters, slower and clearer than you think that

 11	you need to do when you're reading a script.	They

 12	would really appreciate that.

 13	And for the -- we're about to move into

 14	our second speaker block, so I'm going to pass over

 15	the moderation duties to my colleague, Kayla

 16	Steinberg, who will introduce the first speaker of

 17	this panel.

 18	THE MODERATOR:	Hello.	Our next speaker

 19	will be Doug O'Malley.	Please state your name and

 20	affiliation for the record.

  1	I use he, him, pronouns.	I'm here this morning

  2	because -- so many reasons.

  3	But let me start off just by thanking the

  4	EPA for holding this hearing and for so many of our

  5	colleagues across New Jersey and across the country

  6	for joining this hearing.	I couldn't think of a

  7	more important thing to be doing on an essentially

  8	an ozone alert day in New Jersey.

  9	And that's why we're here, because this

 10	is an opportunity for our communities to testify, to

 11	encourage, to urge, cajole EPA to fully grant

 12	California's waiver request for advanced clean

 13	trucks, zero emission airport shuttles and zero

 14	emission power train certification regulations.	The

 15	Omnibus Regulations/no NOx Regulations and the

 16	heavy-duty emissions warranty regulations.

 17	I am keenly aware of the dire need to

 18	reduce air pollution from trucks, and the EPA must

 19	approve California's waiver request to enable state

 20	standards that are key drivers in advancing the

  1	Cooper, who talked about some of the health reasons

  2	and impacts.	And I just wanted to kind of

  3	reemphasize what that actually means, because

  4	Elizabeth referenced the American Lung Association's

  5	State of the State report.	We have eight counties

  6	that received an F for air quality, and that's an

  7	improvement.	Usually it's a little higher than

  8	that.	Usually it's 10 or 11.	We have counties that

  9	don't have records or we don't have monitors.	But

 10	what we do know is that research has quantified the

 11	total interstate gas from transportation air

 12	pollution, not just New Jersey, but in 12 states.

 13	And this was researching around for research

 14	letters.

 15	It showed that New Jersey had more than

 16	1,100 premature gas from vehicle emissions.	This is

 17	huge because -- this is not rhetoric, when we say

 18	that air pollution from our trucks is killing us.

 19	And I think it's important to understand that these

 20	air pollutants, they impact all of us, but they

  1	ripped through their communities.

  2	So this is a public health crisis that

  3	has been compounded during this pandemic, and sadly

  4	the Harvard School of Public Health research clearly

  5	showed that COVID transmission was highest in

  6	communities that had the highest level of

  7	particulate pollution.	That is an air pollution

  8	crisis and one that we need to solve by taking

  9	stronger measures.	And I'm proud to say that New

 10	Jersey has taken those stronger measures by adopting

 11	the Advanced Clean Truck Rule.

 12	And I just want to talk about why that's

 13	so important, because trucks really are -- they are

 14	a small part of the vehicle population on the road,

 15	about five percent, but they have an oversized

 16	impact on the amount of NOx and SOx that are being

 17	directly admitted.	And specifically, you know,

 18	those pollutants, you know, they -- they are -- and

 19	sadly omnipresent in many of our communities and

 20	especially on ozone alert days, that's even more

  1	by those deaths, but this is a reminder that asthma

  2	really is the epidemic that doesn't get talked about

                3	enough.	We have more than 600,000 people in New

               4	Jersey that suffer from asthma.	I have two young

  5	kids, thankfully they don't suffer from asthma, but

               6	I certainly know many parents with kids that do.

                    7	And when you have an asthma attack, it

  8	feels like drowning.	And that's ultimately why

  9	New Jersey has spent so much time and money and work

              10	to adopt Advanced Clean Truck Regulations.	We are

 11	spending money right now to electrify our truck

 12	fleet from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

              13	programs.	We have programs through the New Jersey

             14	Economic Development Authority, called the NJ ZIP,

 15	to get electric vehicles on the road.

 16	Our board of public utilities is working

             17	to provide more electrification opportunities, but

 18	all of this comes with the hammer that is the

 19	Advanced Clean Truck Rule.	We know the industry is

              20	against these rules.	They lobbied against it.	We                                           1	announce our intention to adopt these rules, and we

  2	have a multitude of others that joined us at the end

  3	of 2021.

  4	That's a big win, but that's only because

  5	we're able to adopt the California regs.	I'm

  6	obviously focusing on Advanced Clean Truck.	There

  7	are many others that are hugely important.

  8	California --

  9	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 10	comment, and I apologize for interrupting, but EPA

 11	needs to keep the statements to five minutes --

 12	MR. O'MALLEY:	Sure.

 13	THE MODERATOR:	-- so that everyone has a

 14	chance to testify.

 15	MR. O'MALLEY:	Yeah, so let me finish the

 16	last sentence.	California is the king of the

 17	highway.	New Jersey is a close second.	That's why

 18	we need states like New Jersey to be able to adopt

 19	California air regs, and we encourage this action.

 20	Thank you so much.

  1	testimony.

  2	MS. DYNOWSKI:	I'm sorry about that.	I'm

  3	Sam -- Samantha Dynowski, the state director of the

  4	Sierra Club's Connecticut Chapter.	And on behalf of

  5	the Sierra Club Connecticut Chapter and our more

  6	than 40,000 members and supporters in Connecticut,

  7	thank you for the opportunity to provide comments

  8	today.

  9	California's strong emission standards

 10	are critical to improved air quality in Connecticut.

 11	The Sierra Club Connecticut Chapter urges the EPA to

 12	approve California's waiver request swiftly and in

 13	full.

 14	Transportation pollution in Connecticut

 15	is a serious problem for public health,

 16	environmental justice and our climate.	In New

 17	England, Connecticut has the dirtiest air and had

 18	the highest number of unhealthy air days reported in

 19	2021.

 20	The transportation sector accounts for

  1	earned failing grades for ozone pollution.	The

  2	other four counties received Ds and Cs.

  3	The public health impact of pollution

              4	from transportation is felt throughout Connecticut

  5	but is disproportionately experienced by communities

  6	of color and low-income communities who are more

              7	likely to live in places with more exposure to air

  8	pollution, such as long highways, in the industrial

  9	areas and ports.

 10	In Connecticut a 2015 analysis found that

 11	approximately one in ten middle and high school

 12	students statewide reported an episode of asthma or

 13	an asthma attack in the past year, with the highest

 14	prevalence among non-Hispanic Black students.

 15	While medium and heavy-duty vehicles are

 16	only six percent of vehicles on the road in

 17	Connecticut, they met 25 percent of the greenhouse

 18	gas emissions, 53 percent of the NOx emissions and

 19	45 percent of the PM emissions.

 20	In an assessment of Connecticut's need to

  1	benefits by adopting California's standards.

  2	These include a carbon emissions

  3	reduction of over 350,000 tons per year, 270 million

  4	dollars in avoided health care costs over the period

  5	of 2020 to 2024 and as much as 1.4 billion by 2050

  6	from NOx and PM emission reductions.

  7	In 2022 the Connecticut general assembly

  8	passed Public Act 22-25 requiring the Connecticut

  9	Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to

 10	adopt California's medium and heavy-duty regulations

 11	to realize these benefits in full.

 12	For these reasons, we urge the EPA to

 13	approve California's waiver request swiftly and in

 14	full.	Thank you again for the opportunity to

 15	comment.

 16	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 17	comment.	Our next speaker will be Kevin Garcia.

 18	Please state your name and affiliation for the

 19	record.

  1	and is a non-profit 501(c)3 citywide membership

  2	network linking grassroots organizations from

  3	low-income communities of color and the struggle for

  4	environmental justice.

  5	I am here today to testify in support of

  6	California's waiver request being granted.	Failure

  7	to grant California's waiver request will have a

  8	ripple effect on other states to implement policies

  9	necessary to meet climate targets, especially New

 10	York State.

 11	In 2019, in response to New York's

 12	grassroots demand for a cleaner and more equitable

 13	energy system, New York lawmakers passed the most

 14	ambitious state climate law in the nation.	The New

 15	York State Climate Leadership and Community

 16	Protection Act, or the CLCPA.

 17	The CLCPA calls for the state to reduce

 18	greenhouse gas emissions from all anthropogenic

 19	sources by 85 percent from 1990 levels by the year

  1	risen by 16 percent since 1990 and are projected to

  2	continue to rise.	Much of the increase comes from

  3	diesel trucks and buses which have an outside

  4	contribution to emissions, despite representing a

  5	tiny fraction of the overall vehicle fleet.

  6	However, the equity and health impact of

  7	these emissions could not be more clear.	It is

  8	known that diesel trucks are a major source of local

  9	air pollution, and due to the citing of highways,

 10	warehouse facilities and truck routes, low-income

 11	communities and communities of color in New York

 12	City are disproportionately impacted by poor air

 13	quality.

 14	A study found significant disparities in

 15	urban areas in exposure to NO2, an ozone precursor

 16	for communities of color and low-income communities,

 17	and concluded that diesel truck is the dominant

 18	source of nitrogen dioxide disparities and that a

 19	62 percent reduction in diesel emissions would

 20	decrease race, ethnicity and income inequalities by

  1	a critical first step in jump starting the

  2	transition from highly polluting diesel trucks to

  3	zero emission electric trucks.	And according to the

  4	New York State DEC, adoption to California's ACT

  5	regulation is expected to significantly reduce NOx,

  6	PM 2.5 and greenhouse gas emissions, as internal

  7	combustion engine vehicles will be replaced with

  8	zero emission vehicles.

  9	Zero emission vehicles also produce no

 10	TEMPO emissions, reduce particulate matter emissions

 11	from brake wear and have lower upshoot emissions.

 12	DC also -- I'm sorry, the New York state DEC also

 13	estimates that from 2025 to 2040, the ACT would

 14	eliminate 18,000 tons of NOx, 250 tons of PM 2.5 and

 15	17 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, which will

 16	yield billions in net benefits or reduce emissions

 17	and cost savings.

 18	So by not adopting the ACT rule, this

 19	will have impact on New York State's ability to

 20	achieve air quality standards and its climate change

  1	fully grant California's waiver request for states

  2	like New York to address compelling and

  3	extraordinary air quality issues.	Without this

  4	grant waiver New York and other states will not be

  5	able to achieve their climate targets.	New Yorkers

  6	living in environmental justice communities

  7	throughout this state are counting on the state to

  8	phase out these dirty diesel trucks that are

               9	wreaking havoc on their health.	And the ACT rule

 10	and other Clean Truck rules are lifesaving

 11	regulations that must be implemented immediately.

 12	Thank you so much again for your time.

 13	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 14	comment.	Our next speaker will be Christina Cross,

 15	but I can't find you in the list of attendees.	Can

 16	you please raise your hand if you've joined under a

 17	different name or if you joined by phone, if you

 18	select to *9 to raise your hand.

 19	Okay, well I don't see a hand so in that

 20	case, we will move on to Ann Baskerville.	Please

              1	the largest inland port in North America, and I am

  2	concerned that because there is no time to delay

              3	when it comes to reducing deadly diesel pollution.

  4	Since the construction of the BNSF and

  5	Union Pacific Rail intermodels in Will County, my

              6	community has seen thousands of acres of land paved

              7	over through warehouse and distribution centers and

  8	tens of thousands of polluting diesel semitrucks

  9	driving through communities.

 10	Many residential roads that people use to

 11	get to work, to school, those have become de facto

 12	truck routes.	And especially whenever there's a

             13	backup on the interstate, local roads are inundated

 14	with these semis that are just trying to get to

 15	where they're trying to go.

 16	I have personally done diesel particulate

 17	matter 2.5 monitoring on sidewalks along these roads

             18	and recorded unhealthy levels of diesel particulate

 19	matter pollution.	The BNSF intermodal was built

 20	over 15 years ago, and yet our communities have seen

  1	drastic increase in semitruck traffic near

  2	intermodals and warehouse developments.	If you

  3	stand on many sidewalks in parks in Joliet, you will

  4	see and smell hundreds of semis driving past you

  5	within a few minutes.

  6	I would echo the comments by the previous

  7	speaker from Earth Justice regarding the fact that

  8	this is both an environmental justice and racial

  9	justice issue.	The people living near the rail

 10	yards, truck routes and warehouses in Joliet are

 11	often low income in communities of color.

 12	I urge the EPA to grant the Clean Truck

 13	waivers.	I am very concerned that any delay with

 14	the California waivers will have cascading impacts

 15	and that the reality for people like me and my

 16	community will be that diesel pollution continues to

 17	increase for years or even decades.	Thank you.

 18	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 19	comment.	As a reminder, if you are speaking today,

 20	you will receive a notification on your screen that

  1	connected by telephone should unmute their phones by

  2	pressing *6 when called to testify.

  3	Our next speaker will be Jiyoon Chon.

  4	Please state your name and affiliation for the

  5	record.

  6	MS. CHON:	Hello, can you hear me?

  7	THE MODERATOR:	Yes, we can hear you.

  8	MS. CHON:	Okay.	Hi, my name is

  9	Jiyoon Chon.	I'm a recent graduate from Tufts

 10	University in Boston, and I'm currently working with

 11	the clean transportation team, the Sierra Club

 12	Massachusetts chapter.

 13	First, thank you so much for the

 14	opportunity to testify, and I would like to also

 15	thank this administration for acting swiftly on

 16	Clean Trucks.	But I also want to urge the EPA to

 17	approve California's waiver request in full,

 18	allowing the state to create the strongest possible

 19	limits on heavy-duty vehicle pollution and rules to

 20	accelerate a transition to zero emission vehicles.

  1	Washington, both of which are Section 177 states

  2	that have adopted California's Advanced Clean Trucks

  3	and Heavy-Duty Low NOx Omnibus Rules.

  4	Vehicle emissions are the largest

  5	contributor of greenhouse gas emissions and air

  6	pollution in both Washington and Massachusetts.	And

  7	so California's authority under the Clean Air Act to

  8	set more stringent emission standards are really

  9	crucial to cleaning the air in both of these states.

 10	Climate change impacts for greenhouse gas emissions

 11	are already being felt.	For example, Washington

 12	State experienced an unprecedented heat wave in the

 13	summer of 2021, just last year, when temperature --

 14	sorry, can you still hear me?

 15	THE MODERATOR:	Yes, we can hear you now.

 16	MS. CHON:	Okay.	Washington State

 17	experienced an unprecedented heat wave in the summer

 18	of 2021, when temperatures reached an all time

 19	record of 108 degrees.	Most zones in Washington

 20	State are not equipped with air conditioning, and

  1	Curbing greenhouse gas emissions by

  2	setting stringent vehicle emissions and electric

               3	truck standards is really a crucial first step in

  4	preventing climate-related catastrophes.	And in

  5	Massachusetts I've been working with the Sierra Club

  6	to advocate for zero emission vehicles and clean

  7	transportation for all.

  8	Curbing vehicle emissions is particularly

  9	important in Massachusetts because there are a

 10	number of environmental justice communities and --

 11	environmental justice and communities of color, like

 12	Chelsea, Springfield and Boston, that are already

 13	experiencing disproportionate levels of air

 14	pollution.

 15	Residents of these communities are

 16	exposed to a higher level of traffic emissions from

 17	highways running through these communities and as

 18	others have mentioned, diesel trucks are especially

 19	dangerous to public health because the exposure to

  1	California's ACT and HDO rules are necessary to

  2	protect these communities and is a necessary step in

  3	addressing the effects of environmental racism in

  4	Massachusetts and in other states like others have

  5	mentioned.

  6	Once again, I urge the administration to

  7	approve the waivers in full to grant California the

  8	authority to create lifesaving rules, to reduce

  9	deadly NOx pollution and to accelerate the

 10	transition to zero emission electric trucks and

 11	buses.

 12	Thank you so much for the opportunity to

 13	testify.

 14	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 15	comment.	Our next speaker will be Matt Scherr.

 16	Please state your name and affiliation for the

 17	record.

 18	MR. SCHERR:	Hi there, just a sound

 19	check.	Can you hear me?

  1	advocating for climate action.	Eagle County, by the

  2	way, is where Vail, the international ski resort is

  3	located, in case you're looking for it on a map.

  4	And, of course, I mention that because the effects

  5	of climate change have already been dramatically

  6	impacting both our environment and our economy that

  7	depends on that environment.

  8	Here in the Rocky Mountains we see the

  9	effects of climate change happening faster than

 10	scientists have predicted.	Our regional average

 11	temperature is already above that infamous global

 12	threshold of one and a half degrees celsius.

 13	Now here we say you come to the mountains

 14	for the winters, but you stay for the summers.	But

 15	interestingly, our most immediate climate impact

 16	isn't loss of snow and precipitation, though that is

 17	absolutely happening and is absolutely a problem.

 18	Wildfires were once a rare summer event; now they

 19	occur every time of year.	A fire chief here

 20	recently had said, "We don't have fire season

  1	communities like mine are devastating local

  2	governments.	Our county emergency management

  3	department has grown from three people to six in the

  4	past three years.	And here in John Denver's iconic

  5	naturally beautiful Colorado, my neighbors on the

  6	front range of the Rocky Mountains in the Denver

  7	metro area experience some of the worst air quality

  8	in the country, sometimes in the world.

  9	We need the strongest possible state and

 10	federal regulation to secure Colorado's economy,

 11	promote the health of our constituents and ensure

 12	prosperity for ourselves and our posterity.

 13	And so I'm here with you today because in

 14	Colorado our number one source of greenhouse gas is

 15	transportation.	We need your help in addressing

 16	climate impacts from this sector.	The EPA's

 17	decisions on preemption of waivers regarding Clean

 18	Trucks and other transportation emission standards

 19	is of utmost importance to community leaders across

 20	Colorado.	Colorado's medium and heavy-duty truck

  1	for 22 percent of our state's greenhouse gas

  2	emissions.

  3	The impacts of this affect every citizen

  4	in Colorado and disproportionately our low-income

  5	community members, who live closer to the sources of

  6	the pollution.	Our state has been working hard for

  7	several years on this issue, and we're poised to

  8	make the transition to Clean Trucks.	We have

  9	dedicated funding and have developed a comprehensive

 10	plan that strategically compliments and prepares the

 11	way for the adoption of the same standards as

 12	California.	But without EPA's support of these

 13	rules, there is no way we can meet our emissions

 14	goals to avert the worst impacts of climate change

 15	and, by the way, create the economy we want for

 16	ourselves, not what industry wants.

 17	State leaders in Colorado are doing all

 18	we can to transition these truck fleets to low

 19	emission alternative vehicles.	However, without

 20	authority from EPA, the rules we are working on

  1	creating solutions.	We rely on the EPA upholding

  2	our ability to implement all our transportation

  3	emissions reduction standards.

  4	Thank you for your time and this

  5	opportunity to share my thoughts on behalf of our

  6	Rocky Mountain constituents.

  7	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

  8	comment.	Our next speaker will be Bill Magavern.

  9	Please state your name and affiliation for the

 10	record.

 11	MR. MAGAVERN:	Good morning.	My name is

 12	Bill Magavern.	I'm policy director with the

 13	Coalition for Clean Air.	We're a California

 14	non-profit.	Our mission is to improve air quality,

 15	protect public health and prevent climate change.

 16	I always look forward to the summer.	And

 17	summer in California can be glorious, but

 18	unfortunately because of air pollution, summertime

 19	also means a very serious, unhealthy smog problem

 20	for California.	And in recent years we've also been

  1	Advanced Clean Truck, zero emission airport shuttle

  2	and heavy-duty emission warranty rules and urge --

  3	we urge you to approve these without delay.	We are

  4	very familiar with these rules.

  5	We supported all of them.	As they were

  6	going through the process in California, I

  7	personally participated in the extensive public

  8	processes for all of these rules, and I can attest

  9	that they are grounded in strong science and are

 10	well targeted to reduce the pollution that is

 11	causing both bad air quality and climate change.

 12	In fact, diesel trucks are California's

 13	biggest polluter, with a disproportionate impact on

 14	low-income communities of color.	Because of this,

 15	anything less than a full and prompt approval of

 16	these waivers would be a stain on the record of an

 17	EPA that has positions concern about air quality,

 18	climate change, public health and environmental

 19	justice.

  1	cleaner technology, help all Californians and many

  2	in the other states that will adopt them to breathe

  3	easier.	Thank you for your time this morning.

  4	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

  5	comment.	Our next speaker will be Rasto Brezny.

  6	Please state your name and affiliation for the

  7	record.

  8	MR. BREZNY:	Thank you for this

  9	opportunity to provide supportive comments for

 10	granting these waivers to allow the California Air

 11	Resources Board to enforce its truck regulations.

 12	I'll focus my time on the Omnibus waiver.

 13	I'm Rasto Brezny, the executive director for the

 14	Manufacturers of Emission Control Association.	MECA

 15	is a non-profit trade association of the world's

 16	leading suppliers of emission control, efficiency

 17	and electric technology for on and off road vehicles

 18	and equipment.

 19	The nearly 300,000 jobs supported by

  1	quality needs.	Second, since 2016 CARB invited

  2	stakeholders to participate in work groups and

  3	workshops to inform the regulatory provisions in the

  4	Omnibus.	The Omnibus offers a phase-in starting in

  5	2024, where requirements can be met with today's

  6	familiar aftertreatment architectures.	And finally,

  7	a longer warranty will bring value to truck owners

  8	to alleviate pre-buy concerns.

  9	First, let me address California's air

 10	quality needs and the air quality benefits resulting

 11	from early implementation of a 75 percent lower NOx

 12	standards starting in 2024.	CARB has reported that

 13	more than half of Californians live in areas that

 14	exceed the most stringent 70 parts per billion ozone

 15	standard with many areas still exceeding the

 16	previous ozone standards.

 17	MECA co-sponsored an emission inventory

 18	in air quality analysis.	Based on the emission

 19	limit values in the Omnibus starting in 2024, the

 20	results concluded that a statewide reduction of

  1	Technology commercialization has a long

  2	cycle, including design, testing, vehicle

  3	integration, real world deployment across many

  4	trucks in the field to make sure systems are

  5	reliable and durable.	This is why CARB has done

  6	extensive outreach with industry long before

  7	adopting the Omnibus.

  8	Starting in 2016, CARB staff engaged

  9	industry through work groups and workshops to seek

 10	input on regulatory provisions.	This regulatory

 11	engagement allowed technology suppliers to develop a

 12	portfolio of options to comply with the type of

 13	standards.	Granting this waiver will energize

 14	industry to work together to integrate this

 15	technology onto vehicles.

 16	Based on early technology screening work

 17	at Southwest Research Institute, we showed that the

 18	CARB 2024, 75 percent reduction in NOx is achievable

 19	with conventional aftertreatment architecture,

 20	better engine calibration and 2019 vintage

  1	technologies to their OEM customers, to build the

  2	additional margin they need to comply over a truck's

  3	lifetime.	This continual learning has resulted in

  4	systems being downsized by about 60 percent and at

  5	30 percent lower costs since NOx catalysts were

  6	first introduced on trucks in 2010.

  7	The most recent example of such

  8	innovation has further reduced tailpipe NOx by

  9	approximately 18 to 35 percent below CARB's most

 10	stringent 2027 standards by capturing crank case

 11	emissions on heavy-duty trucks through the use of

 12	commercially available blow-by gas filtration

 13	technologies.

 14	Finally, suppliers appreciate concerns

 15	being raised about the potential for increased costs

 16	leading to a pre-buy of trucks.	We believe that

 17	these concerns will be alleviated by several

 18	factors.	First, the 2024 trucks will deploy

 19	improved versions of 15-year-old emission control

 20	technology.	Second, trucks will come with the

  1	In conclusion, for over 50 years

  2	California has played a leadership role in advancing

  3	vehicle standards and policies that achieved air

  4	quality results first in California, then the U.S.

  5	and eventually around the world.	This is a

  6	successful model where California acts as a

  7	laboratory for new policies that allows

  8	manufacturers to gain experience in limited market

  9	that eventually benefit the rest of the nation.

 10	The Clean Air Act envisioned this role

 11	for California as the co-regulator of mobile source

 12	emissions, and MECA supports California's authority

 13	under the Clean Air Act to promulgate air quality

 14	regulations and EPA's granting of California

 15	waivers.	Thank you for your time.

 16	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 17	comment.	The next speaker will be Bryan Burton.

 18	You should have gotten a request to be a panelist.

 19	Please accept that, so that you can speak.	Also, as

 20	a reminder, please speak slowly and clearly so that

  1	right after.

  2	Sam, if you could state your name and

  3	affiliation for the record, please.

  4	MR. WILSON:	Great, thanks.	Can you hear

  5	me well?

  6	THE MODERATOR:	Yes, I can hear you.

  7	MR. WILSON:	Awesome.	Good morning,

  8	everyone.	My name is Sam Wilson.	I'm a senior

  9	vehicles analyst with the Union of Concerned

 10	Scientists.	We're a national non-profit whose

 11	mission is to use rigorous independent science to

 12	solve our planet's most pressing problems.	Joining

 13	with people across the country, we combine technical

 14	analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative

 15	practical solutions for a healthy, safe and

 16	sustainable future.

 17	I'm based here in Oakland, California

 18	where each day tens of thousands of residents are

 19	exposed to extraordinary levels of toxic diesel

 20	emissions.	Ozone sootification further jeopardizes

  1	approving the waiver for California's Advanced Clean

  2	Trucks rule, given California's extraordinary and

  3	compelling air quality conditions.

  4	After my testimony today, you'll hear

  5	from my colleague, Dave Cook, on several key

  6	technical considerations of approving the three

  7	waivers.	In the absence of meaningful federal

  8	action on climate change and toxic air pollution,

  9	the ACT is one of the most important regulatory

 10	tools to accelerate greater access to clean air and

 11	reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.	While

 12	manufacturers are already beginning to roll out

 13	heavy-duty electric trucks, regulations like the ACT

 14	are necessary to hasten the momentum towards the

 15	cleaner transportation paradigm.

 16	Although just about one in ten vehicles

 17	on our roads and highways here in the U.S.,

 18	heavy-duty trucks are responsible for about 30

 19	percent of greenhouse gas emissions and roughly half

 20	of all fine particulate emissions and ozone-forming

  1	Regulations like the ACT are a pivotal part of the

  2	state's tool kit to address the extraordinarily poor

  3	air quality conditions here in California.

  4	The California Air Resources Board

  5	estimates that the ACT will effect meaningful

  6	reductions in particulate matter and the

  7	ozone-forming NOx emissions, resulting in fewer

  8	negative health outcomes to the tune of nearly 9

  9	billion dollars in cumulative value and roughly 1000

 10	avoided premature deaths in our state through 2040.

 11	Similarly, CARB estimates that the ACT

 12	will result in significant benefits to the state's

 13	economy with a net employment growth of around 7500

 14	jobs and 6 billion dollars in total economic

 15	benefits for the state's trucking industry through

 16	2040.	This is mostly from reduced fuel and

 17	maintenance costs.	It's also important to note that

 18	this number accounts for assumed costs for

 19	installing new charging infrastructure, as well.

  1	Furthermore, it introduces a new level of political

  2	nuance to the state's efforts to develop our

  3	nation's most protective climate and air quality

  4	regulations.

  5	The five additional states that have

  6	adopted ACT will also be harmed by a partial or full

  7	denial of California's waiver.	As with California,

  8	these states are estimated to benefit significantly

  9	from the ACT.	A few of these highlights include 240

 10	fewer premature deaths in New York through 2050, 420

 11	million dollars in annual savings to New Jersey

 12	truck fleets by 2050, cutting NOx emissions from

 13	heavy-duty trucks in Massachusetts by 85 percent by

 14	2050, while growing GDP.	Cutting greenhouse gas

 15	emissions from heavy-duty trucks in Oregon by 60

 16	percent by 2050, while also growing GDP, and nearly

 17	25 billion dollars in net societal benefits in

 18	Washington State through 2050.

 19	Even the states not adopting the ACT

  1	Denying California's waiver for the

  2	Advanced Clean Trucks rule would be unprecedented

  3	and send a clear signal to the nation and the global

  4	community, for that matter, that this administration

  5	has not only failed to secure meaningful emissions

  6	reductions at the federal level thus far, but went

  7	out of its way to reduce the hard won progress led

  8	by California in section 177 states.

  9	Thanks so much for your time this

 10	morning, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

 11	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 12	comment.	Our next speaker will be Bryan Burton.

 13	Please provide your name and affiliation for the

 14	record.

 15	MR. BURTON:	Good morning.	My name is

 16	Bryan Burton, advocacy manager for the Healthy Air

 17	with the American Lung Association speaking in

 18	strong support of the U.S. Environmental Protection

 19	Agency's granting California these cleaner truck

 20	waivers without delay, to implement these critical

  1	Clean Air Agencies has determined that federal

  2	heavy-duty truck standards are not sufficiently

  3	health protective.

  4	Truly, 75 percent of all goods are moved

  5	in the United States by heavy-duty truck traffic.

  6	The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed personal

  7	shopping behavior, accelerating the shift from

  8	in-store shopping for products and services to

  9	ordering them online.	This has increased demand for

 10	fast, personalized delivery service and has resulted

 11	in a rising number of delivery trucks and vans on

 12	neighborhood streets supported by proliferation of

 13	warehouse and distribution centers.

 14	Unfortunately, the health burden for

 15	e-commerce-related pollution tends to be

 16	disproportionately impacted by communities of color,

 17	despite consuming a smaller share of the consumer

 18	goods.	U.S. EPA estimates that 72 million Americans

 19	live along major truck freight routes and notes that

 20	there are more likely to be people of color and have

  1	emission cars, trucks and electricity, which the

  2	California Clean Truck Standards helps to drive

  3	toward.	This also translates into preventing nearly

  4	8,000 premature deaths, the third most in the

  5	nation.

  6	Creating certainty in diesel emission

  7	reductions is crucial to improving the health for

  8	all Pennsylvanians.	Pennsylvania is home to well

  9	over one billion square feet of distribution and

 10	warehouse space, with much more currently under

 11	construction or in the planning phase.

 12	Geographically speaking, a truck driving eight hours

 13	out of Pennsylvania can reach territory where over

 14	150 Americans live.

 15	This is important for two reasons.	It's

 16	attractive for trucking companies to locate here,

 17	leading to industry concentration.	Also, were dirty

 18	truck standards to persist, Pennsylvania trucks

 19	would contribute pollution to more than one-third of

 20	the nation's population.

  1	In March, EPA correctly allowed waivers

  2	for 16 states, including Pennsylvania, to adopt the

  3	California Advanced Clean Cars rule.	It's vital

  4	that EPA approve the waivers to allow multiple

  5	states to adopt the rules to ensure residents of the

  6	Mid-Atlantic states can be protected with more

  7	health protective standards.

  8	The EPA's actions on these waivers can

  9	further this growing adoption of these lifesaving

 10	rules.	Trucks have an outsized impact on air

 11	pollution compared to their share of the roadways.

 12	Further, studies of real world vehicle emissions in

 13	congested areas have found that as little as six

 14	percent of the oldest diesel trucks on the road

 15	manufactured before 2007 are responsible for up to

 16	83 percent of the fleets' particulate emissions.

 17	Replacing these dirtiest trucks with

 18	newer, cleaner trucks will have an enormous impact

 19	on air quality.	Creating the California waiver

 20	provides more tools to modernize the industry.

  1	you very much.

  2	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

  3	comment.	Our next speaker will be Dave Cooke.

  4	Please state your name and affiliation for the

  5	record.

  6	MR. COOKE:	Thanks.	Can you hear me

  7	okay?

  8	THE MODERATOR:	Yes, we can hear you.

  9	MR. COOKE:	All right, great.	I'm

 10	Dr. Dave Cooke.	He, him pronouns, senior vehicles

 11	analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

 12	Like my colleague, Sam Wilson, I am here

 13	to support granting all three waivers for

 14	California's Heavy-Duty Truck rules.	Under the

 15	Clean Air Act, Congress has granted tremendous

 16	deference to California, owing to its longstanding

 17	leadership on vehicle emission standards.

 18	Congress requires EPA to grant a waiver

 19	to the state of California, unless one of three

 20	criteria are met:	Either the state has not

  1	meet none of those conditions.

  2	My colleague, Sam Wilson, just laid out

  3	clearly the compelling conditions requiring

  4	California to establish these policies to protect

  5	its residents, an urgency which has been echoed by a

  6	number of community members in today's hearing.

  7	Given the years of federal inaction on

  8	trucks, EPA should continue to make every effort to

  9	reach out to the communities harmed by trucks as

 10	part of this and future processes to truly

 11	understand the compelling conditions felt on the

 12	ground by front line communities that necessitate

 13	this action.

 14	The second criterion required by Congress

 15	is the compatibility of these standards with Section

 16	202(a) of the Clean Air Act.	This question has a

 17	long history, so it was surprising to see EPA

 18	request comment on this by echoing concerns raised

 19	in a misguided lawsuit from the Truck and Engine

 20	Manufacturers Association.

               1	trucks in California did not comply with the lead

  2	time and stability requirements of 202(a)(3)(c).

  3	But as EPA rightfully noted in its 2012

  4	determination to grant the waiver, while California

  5	must take lead time into account and EPA must

  6	consider lead time when evaluating California's

               7	regulations, the lead time inquiry EPA undertakes

  8	relates to technological feasibility.

  9	With respect to California's specific

 10	requirements at the time, California demonstrated

 11	that compliance options are currently

 12	technologically feasible, EPA then has no further

 13	inquiry into lead time because no additional

 14	requirement is imposed by the Section 209 criteria.

 15	The four year lead time requirement that

 16	EPA faces in setting its own standards is

 17	inconsequential to any lead time considerations

 18	based by EPA in granting the waiver to California.

 19	The only question on lead time pertains to whether

 20	or not California's rules are feasible.	And here we

  1	For example, in establishing its 2024 NOx

  2	standards of .05 grams for break horsepower hour,

  3	CARB staff found that the standards were feasible

  4	without significant changes to the current engine

  5	and aftertreatment system.	Thanks to extensive

  6	laboratory test data taken at Southwest Research

  7	Institute.	Additional data from this project

            8	supported CARB's 2027 Omnibus requirements, as EPA

  9	well understands since the latest data from this

 10	project supports both the agency's own rule making

 11	and continues to affirm the validity of California's

 12	requirements.

 13	And finally when it comes to the warranty

 14	requirements, CARB again used the best available

 15	data both in extrapolating its test data to reflect

 16	the life times of modern diesel engines and in

 17	assessing the widespread use of extended warranties,

 18	which helped inform their position of the cost

 19	effectiveness of such warranty requirements.

 20	This well informed multi-year stakeholder

  1	but was perhaps best summarized by his successor

  2	administrator Russell Train.

  3	The structure and history of the

  4	California waiver provision clearly indicate both a

  5	congressional intent and an EPA practice of leaving

  6	the decision on ambiguous and controversial matters

  7	of public policy to California's judgment.

  8	California has well established the importance and

  9	need for these rules under a lengthy data driven

 10	process.

 11	These rules do not meet any of the three

 12	criteria which Congress required to deny these

 13	waivers.	Therefore, under EPA's longstanding and

 14	accurate view of its limited role in this matter,

 15	the agency must approve all three waivers for

 16	enforcement in full.	Thank you for your time.

 17	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 18	comment.	Our next speaker will be Lily Zwaan.

 19	Please state your name and affiliation for the

 20	record.

  1	all for the opportunity to comment today and thank

  2	you so much to the previous speakers for all the

  3	information that you're providing today which only,

  4	you know, strengthens my conviction that we need to

  5	grant these waivers as soon as possible.

  6	I'm here asking you to approve

  7	California's waiver request and to allow the

  8	strongest possible limits on heavy-duty vehicle

  9	pollution, because we need a rapid transition to

 10	zero emissions vehicles.	I live in Atlanta, Georgia

 11	and I am in Fulton County, which currently holds an

 12	F air quality grade from the American Lung

 13	Association.	This means that children in my

 14	community are breathing dirty air.

 15	For context, more than half of public

 16	schools in Fulton County sit within a half mile of a

 17	major highway.	So young lungs, as we know, are more

 18	vulnerable to air pollutants, and it is up to us to

 19	protect them from harmful emissions from heavy-duty

  1	city.	A delay in implementing clean trucks and

  2	electric truck standards would prolong the suffering

  3	experienced by communities living daily with the

  4	impacts of environmental racism, redlining and

  5	generations of marginalization that make them more

  6	vulnerable to pollution from trucks.

  7	And all of this is to say nothing of

  8	truck pollution's contributions to climate change in

  9	a summer where here in Georgia we're experiencing

 10	dangerous levels of extreme heat.

 11	Atlanta is a massive hub for the

 12	southeast with some of the most congested roads in

 13	the globe, and that means tractor-trailers spend

 14	hours in Atlanta traffic polluting the air we

 15	breathe and contributing to dangerous levels of

 16	smog.	This dirty air becomes only more harmful as

 17	our city experiences more extreme heat events, these

 18	themselves being fueled by carbon pollution from

 19	cars and trucks.

               1	emission electric vehicles.	This is not only for

              2	the mitigation of climate change, but also for the

  3	immediate health impacts of this pollution

  4	(inaudible) impacts all too well.

  5	Please grant these waivers right away to

              6	protect children, people with asthma, older adults

              7	and those already bearing the brunt of the climate

  8	crisis from the health harms of air pollution.

                    9	Everyone has the right to breathe clean

 10	air.	Thank you again for the opportunity to speak.

 11	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 12	comment.	That is the end of this block before we

 13	move on to the next block of speakers.	Is Christina

 14	Cross in here?	If you are please raise your hand.

 15	If you're joined by phone you can raise your hand by

 16	pressing *9.	I just want to give you a second to

 17	give your testimony.

 18	MR. KARL SIMON:	While we're waiting,

 19	Kayla, for the transitions, I want to say thanks to

 20	all the panelists and the speakers from the first

  1	here on the slide, so those are -- you should target

  2	your information and federal register notice

  3	provides more information on how to submit written

  4	comments.	Turn it back to you or Jesse or Kayla

  5	will be our moderator for block 3.

  6	THE MODERATOR:	It looks like Christina

  7	is not here, so we can move on to block 3.	As a

  8	reminder, if you are speaking today, you will

  9	receive a notification on your screen that you are

 10	being promoted to a panelist shortly prior to

 11	speaking time.	You must click to accept that

 12	invitation to be able to unmute when you are called

 13	to testify.	This will also allow you to turn on

 14	your camera, which we encourage you to do.

 15	Speakers connected by telephone should

 16	unmute their phones by pressing *6 when called to

 17	testify.	Also as a reminder please speak slowly and

 18	clearly so that the court reporter and interpreters

 19	can accurately capture your testimony.	For the

  1	hand.	That way I can promote you.	Okay, I have not

  2	seen a raised hand, so we will circle back to Yassi.

  3	The next speaker is Jed Mandel.	Jed,

  4	could you please state your name and affiliation for

  5	the record?

  6	MR. MANDEL:	Thank you.	I'm Jed Mandel.

  7	I'm president of the Truck and Engine Manufacturer's

  8	Association.	None of the rules for which CARB is

  9	seeking granting waivers provide the minimum 40

 10	years lead time explicitly required by Congress as a

 11	legal prerequisite to EPA granting CARB the waiver

 12	(inaudible).

 13	(Audio distorted)

 14	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 15	comment.	The next speaker is Patrick Quinn.

 16	Patrick, could you please state your name and

 17	affiliation for the record.

 18	MR. QUINN:	Yes, thank you.	Can you hear

 19	me?

  1	internal combustion engines, improve fuel efficiency

  2	and develop zero emission power trans.	AESI

  3	supports technology neutral standards, which are

  4	performance-based and cost efficient.

  5	Our member companies support EPA's

            6	approval of CARB's waiver for its low NOx Omnibus

  7	Regulation.	Recently published data suggests that

  8	the stringent standards proposed in the California

               9	Omnibus can be achieved with a significant margin

 10	for compliance.	These data should be considered by

 11	EPA in shaping its final role, which would not take

 12	effect, full effect, EPA's rule, for another nine

 13	years during which significant further innovation

 14	will occur.

 15	AESI fully supports EPA granting the

 16	entire waiver for California to enforce its Omnibus

              17	rules starting with the 2024 model standards.	The

 18	following points summarize our position:	First,

 19	California has unique and compelling air quality

              20	needs directly related to NOx.	Second, since 2016                                           1	today's familiar aftertreatment architecture and

  2	minor engine recalibration.	And fourth and finally,

  3	a significantly longer warranty will bring value to

  4	truck owners purchasing these new trucks and

  5	significantly mitigate any pre buy concerns.

  6	NOx is a critical urban public health

  7	issue.	It disproportionately impacts front line

  8	communities.	The diesel tractors sold going forward

  9	should be as clean and as fuel efficient as

 10	possible.	California has uniquely compelling air

 11	quality needs.	In order to meet the national

 12	ambient air quality standards in the time frames

 13	identified in the California SIP, California needs

 14	substantial NOx benefits as soon as possible.

 15	It is possible to achieve the 2024

 16	50 milligram per brake horsepower hour with improved

 17	engine calibration supplied to existing

 18	aftertreatment hardware that is included on today's

 19	engines.	Technologies have evolved and

 20	demonstration testing has continued since the

  1	Long-term regulatory certainty is

  2	essential in the supplier sector.	Investments in

  3	advanced technology are premised upon that

  4	certainty.	U.S. technology leadership and job

  5	creation are built on that certainty.	Approving

  6	CARB's Omnibus NOx regulation will provide that

  7	certainty.

  8	In conclusion, AESI supports granting the

  9	waiver to California to enforce its Omnibus

 10	Regulation starting in model year '24 engines in

 11	vehicles.	California has compelling air quality

 12	needs.	Significant NOx benefits are needed as soon

 13	as possible to meet their ozone NOx obligations.

 14	Our industry, the supplier industry for

 15	heavy-duty trucks, is prepared to do its part and

 16	deliver cost effective and durable advanced emission

 17	control and efficiency technologies to the

 18	heavy-duty sector to assist in simultaneously

 19	achieving lower greenhouse gas emissions and NOx

 20	emissions, while also meeting other critical

  1	please state your name and affiliation for the

  2	record.

  3	Glen, I see you're on.	We currently

  4	cannot hear you.

  5	MR. KEDZIE:	Okay, I'm not sure you can

  6	see the video or not.

  7	THE MODERATOR:	We can hear you.

  8	MR. KEDZIE:	Okay.	I'm Glen Kedzie, and

  9	I serve as the American Trucking Association's

 10	energy and environmental counsel.	Directly and

 11	through our affiliated organizations, ATA represents

 12	more than 34,000 companies encompassing every type

 13	and class of motor carrier in the U.S. and Canada.

 14	I wish to share the fleet perspective on CARB's

 15	waiver requests, though the unprecedented nature of

 16	having one consolidated hearing on three separate

 17	waivers does not afford the opportunity to delve

 18	into the more specific concerns of the trucking

 19	industry.	ATA will detail such concerns in our

 20	formal comments.

               1	groceries to mail to packages.	As everyone knows,

  2	if we got it, a truck most likely brought it.

  3	Second, fleets don't make trucks, they

  4	are consumers that buy trucks.	The Omnibus Low NOx

  5	and ACT Rules are directed at manufacturers, not at

  6	fleets.	However, it is trucking companies buying

              7	new technologies who will ultimately determine the

  8	success or failure of any emission regulation.

  9	ATA's primary concern involving the

 10	requested waivers is that CARB did not provide the

 11	requisite four years of lead time under any of the

 12	regulations.	Clean Air Act Sections 209(b) and

 13	202(a) very specifically require regulations provide

 14	at least four full model years of lead time before

 15	they take effect, along with at least three full

 16	model years of stability.

 17	The clear intent of Congress was to

 18	ensure manufacturers were afforded enough time to

 19	budget and conduct appropriate research to develop

 20	and test new technology pathways.	Tangentially,

  1	namely, EPA shall grant a waiver unless the

  2	administrator finds that California was arbitrary

  3	and capricious in its finding that its standards are

  4	in the aggregates, emphasis added, at least as

  5	protective of the public health and welfare as quid

  6	pro federal standards.	From a truck consumer

  7	standpoint, fleets are extremely sensitive to the

  8	availability, feasibility, cost and performance of

  9	new equipment.

 10	Trucking companies, like any good

 11	business, need to make purchasing decisions for the

 12	near and outer years.	Technology that's not

 13	properly tested, more expensive or creates

 14	uncertainty for fleets is a recipe for pre buys, low

 15	buys or no buys, a scenario that is not good for

 16	fleets, manufacturers, the supply chain, the economy

 17	and the environment.

 18	History has shown that overly aggressive

 19	emission mandates force fleets to reassess their

 20	fleet purchasing decisions, equipment turnover

  1	actually increase aggregate emissions not only in

  2	California, but also those states opting into the

  3	CARB standards.

  4	Lastly, EPA will issue its final Low NOx

  5	Rule later this year, its final phase 3 Greenhouse

  6	Gas Emissions Rule in the summer of 2024, and the

  7	agency will continue to implement phase 2 greenhouse

  8	gas trucking milestones in 2024 and 2027.

  9	Likewise, emission control warranty

 10	provisions will also be significantly modified under

 11	EPA's forthcoming Low NOx Rule.	A harmonized

 12	50-state effort to curb NOx and greenhouse gas

 13	emissions are a more logical, efficient and

 14	effective approach in an industry that is not

 15	restricted in its operations by state boundary

 16	lines.

 17	Thank you again for the opportunity to

 18	provide a fleet perspective on the CARB waiver

 19	request.	A more formalized comments will be

 20	submitted into the docket.

  1	that invitation to be able to unmute when you are

  2	called to testify.	This will also allow you to turn

  3	on your camera, which we encourage you to do.

              4	Speakers connected by telephone should unmute their

  5	phones by pressing *6 when called to testify.

  6	Also, please remember to speak slowly and

  7	clearly so the court reporter and interpreters can

  8	accurately capture your testimony.

  9	The next speaker is Katherine Stainken.

 10	Please unmute yourself and state your name and

 11	affiliation for the record.

 12	MS. STAINKEN:	Great.	Good morning.	My

 13	name is Katherine Stainken, and I'm the

 14	vice-president of policy at the Electrification

 15	Coalition.	Thank you for the opportunity to testify

 16	this morning.	We are a non-profit bipartisan

 17	organization that is working to accelerate adoption

 18	of EVs in order to reduce the economic and national

 19	security threats caused by dependence on oil in the

 20	transportation sector.

  1	American Cities' Climate Challenge and working

  2	directly with states around the country to provide

  3	technical and policy support.

  4	We have created a business coalition that

  5	includes all vehicle sectors and EV charging

  6	infrastructure businesses, and we work directly with

  7	companies like Pepsi, Nestle and others to provide

  8	technical support to accelerate freight

  9	electrification.

 10	Today we are here to offer our support

 11	for the California waiver request.	The stranglehold

 12	that oil has on our transportation sector continues

 13	to put us at great economic, national security and

 14	climate risk.	As the global community rapidly

 15	commits to transportation electrification, we must

 16	recognize the scale of what is at stake in terms of

 17	American leadership and our global competitiveness,

 18	as well.

 19	In short, we need to recognize that our

 20	electric transportation future is a matter of

  1	futures, particularly in the medium and heavy-duty

  2	sector.

  3	The Advanced Clean Trucks Rule is a

  4	critical action and policy and will accelerate the

  5	adoption of EV's in the medium and heavy-duty sector

  6	in the U.S., which represents about five percent of

  7	all vehicles on the road, but accounts for nearly

  8	30 percent of the oil used in the transportation

  9	sector in the U.S.

 10	We know that electric technology is ready

 11	now.	National pilot programs have shown that

 12	electrified freight is market ready and that the

 13	total cost of ownership is lower over the lifetime

 14	of an EV, compared to an internal combustion engine

 15	vehicle.	And the Bureau of Transportation

 16	Statistics' latest survey showed that over half of

 17	the freight tons moved in 2018 were less than

 18	100 miles, while over two-thirds of freight tons

 19	were less than 250 miles, meaning that the freight

 20	sector is ripe for electrification.

  1	the tailpipes of internal combustion engine medium

  2	heavy-duty vehicles.	We know that these harmful

  3	pollutants particularly overburden low-income

  4	communities and communities of color.

  5	In closing, we urge this administration

  6	to approve the waiver to California in full as our

  7	national security, public health, economic

  8	prosperity, leadership and global competitiveness is

  9	at stake.

 10	Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

 11	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 12	comment.	The next speaker is Rob Bonta.	Please

 13	state your name and affiliation for the record.

 14	MR. BONTA:	Good morning, I am Rob Bonta,

 15	California Attorney General, and I'm honored to be

 16	here today, grateful for this opportunity to testify

 17	today to urge the EPA to grant waivers for

 18	California's Heavy-Duty Truck Regulations.

 19	This hearing is about improving our air

 20	quality and addressing climate change, yes, but it

  1	That's what these waivers are about, life

  2	and death.	Over 12 million Californians breathe

              3	dirty, toxic air every day.	And as a result, every

  4	year thousands of them will die prematurely.

  5	Climate change is exacerbating this problem and

  6	causing other suffering, as well.

                   7	So when we talk about reducing oxides of

              8	nitrogen, or NOx, particulate matter and greenhouse

  9	gases, I want to remind you that what we are talking

 10	about is the health of someone's child, someone's

 11	mother, someone's father, sister, brother, abuela or

 12	abuelo.	By granting these waivers you are granting

 13	them their lives.

 14	Indeed, immediately reducing smog-forming

 15	NOx, dangerous particulate matter and climate change

 16	causing greenhouse gases is not an option for us; it

 17	is an immediate need.	And many technology drivers

 18	and manufacturers recognize this, because they like

 19	you know that our state is already suffering

 20	dramatic impacts from air pollution and climate

  1	it's critical to drive the nation forward.

  2	California is committed to combating the

  3	climate crisis and improving the air our residents

  4	breathe.	But in this context of motor vehicle

  5	emissions, we rely on the EPA granting these

  6	preemptive waivers as Congress required.

  7	Communities that are suffering from

  8	chronic air pollution and that live in neighborhoods

  9	near rail yards, warehouses, airports and roadways

 10	are facing the brunt of impacts caused by truck

 11	related emissions, increased asthma, coughs and

 12	wheezing, trips to the ER.	We see these impacts in

 13	California where heavy-duty trucks emit nearly

 14	one-third of all NOx emissions, and we see them

 15	across the nation.

 16	My office has been at the forefront of

 17	addressing the disproportionate impacts caused by

 18	air pollution, including NOx, and I stand here today

 19	to implore you to allow California to drive the

 20	development and deployment of technologies crucial

  1	standards and the Omnibus NOx standards have already

  2	been adopted by other states, and as you're already

  3	seeing, have the support of so many of the Americans

  4	you're hearing from during these important hearings.

  5	Tepid and slow action is just not

  6	acceptable.	Californians are dying because of dirty

  7	air.	We need these waivers granted to address the

  8	climate crisis, save lives and protect communities

  9	living at the intersection of poverty and pollution.

 10	I urge the EPA to grant these waivers

 11	immediately, and I thank you for the privilege of

 12	your time.

 13	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 14	comment.	Our next speaker is Liane Randolph.

 15	Please state your name and affiliation for the

 16	record.

 17	MS. RANDOLPH:	Hello, I'm Liane Randolph,

 18	chair of the California Air Resources Board, and

 19	thank you for the opportunity to testify about the

 20	critical importance of the U.S. EPA immediately

  1	in part because of California's separate motor

  2	vehicle and off-road engine emission control

  3	program.	However, California still has the worst

  4	air quality in the nation.

  5	Over 12 million residents still breathe

  6	unhealthy air.	Oxides of nitrogen, or NOx, is a

  7	precursor to ozone and secondary particulate matter,

  8	both of which lead to adverse health issues,

  9	especially disadvantaged communities which are

 10	disproportionately impacted by air pollution.

 11	California faces particularly extreme

 12	ozone attainment challenges in the South Coast and

 13	San Joaquin Valley air basin, the only two regions

 14	in the country classified as extreme nonattainment

 15	areas.	Much of the state, including the San Joaquin

 16	Valley, still struggles to attain the health-based

 17	fine particulate matter standards, as well.

 18	Significant reductions in NOx and PM

 19	emissions are therefore critical for attaining

 20	health-based federal ozone and fine particulate

  1	climate impacts.	And both high temperature and

  2	wildfires are aggravating the air quality challenges

  3	we already face.	All of these impacts will get much

  4	worse without steep productions in GHG emissions,

  5	including from mobile sources.

  6	Heavy-duty trucks are significant

  7	contributors to California's air pollution problem

  8	and emit approximately one-third of total statewide

  9	NOx emissions and about a quarter of diesel

 10	particulate emissions.	In addition, the

 11	transportation sector remains the largest

 12	contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting

 13	for nearly half of California's statewide greenhouse

 14	gas inventory.

 15	The California Heavy-Duty Regulations for

 16	which U.S. EPA is today considering waivers

 17	represent a crucial step in California Air Resources

 18	Board regulation of trucks.	Heavy-duty trucks

 19	transition to zero emission technology is needed to

 20	simultaneously eliminate exhaust emissions, to

  1	2024.	California's Heavy-Duty Truck Regulations are

  2	designed to significantly reduce criteria and

  3	climate change pollutants, both in the near and the

  4	long-term.	The Omnibus and Advanced Clean Truck

  5	Regulations alone are estimated to reduce NOx

  6	emissions by about 400,000 tons from 2024 through

  7	2050, which translates to approximately 5500 avoided

  8	premature deaths and approximately 4500 avoided

  9	hospitalizations.

 10	California needs to achieve these

 11	benefits as soon as possible, beginning in model

 12	year 2024, and cannot afford any delays.	Any delay

 13	would also negatively impact the numerous other

 14	states that have adopted or are actively planning to

 15	adopt California's Truck Regulations to address the

 16	air quality challenges in their respective states.

 17	Engine manufacturers are already

 18	beginning to plan to meet California's 2024 model

 19	year Heavy-Duty Omnibus requirements that were

 20	adopted last year, with some manufacturers

  1	who have been investing significant resources to

  2	comply with California standards.	Market demand for

  3	zero emission vehicles in the heavy-duty sector is

  4	growing, and may well exceed the minimum required by

  5	the Advanced Clean Trucks Regulation and the

  6	standards are clearly feasible.

  7	These regulations are critical components

  8	of California's strategy to achieve California's air

  9	quality and greenhouse gas reduction goals, to

 10	attain the national ambient air quality standards

 11	and protect the health and well being of

 12	Californians in vulnerable communities.

 13	California accordingly needs U.S. EPA to

 14	quickly issue waivers for each of these truck

 15	regulations.	In fact, it is because of our critical

 16	short-term needs, as well as the urgency of laying

 17	the groundwork to address our long-term needs, that

 18	California adopted these regulations.

 19	By reducing and eliminating pollution

 20	from vehicles where and when they are driven, the

  1	have been forced to bear much of the burden of poor

  2	air quality for far too long.	I urge U.S. EPA to

  3	quickly approve waivers for each of these truck

  4	regulations.

  5	Alex Wang, senior attorney from our legal

  6	office, will provide an overview of the waiver

  7	criteria and why these regulations satisfy the

  8	criteria.	Thank you for allowing me to comment

  9	today.

 10	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 11	comment.	Our next speaker is Alex Wang.	Please

 12	state your name and affiliation for the record.

 13	MR. WANG:	Thank you, thank you,

 14	Ms. Randolph.	Alex Wang, senior attorney for the

 15	California Air Resources Board.

 16	I will now discuss the legal and policy

 17	framework pertinent to EPA's consideration of

 18	California's waiver and authorization request.	EPA

 19	has consistently recognized and followed the

 20	following principles in considering California's

  1	scope of EPA's review is limited to the statutory

  2	criteria in Clean Air Act, Sections 209(b)(1) and

  3	209(e)(2) relating to protectiveness, conditions

  4	warranting California's separate motor vehicle and

  5	non-road engine emissions control programs and

  6	consistency with technical feasibility and federal

  7	certification requirements.	Third, in reviewing and

  8	granting waivers over authorizations, EPA has

  9	consistently deferred to the policy judgments of

 10	California's decision makers.

 11	The first waiver or authorization

 12	criterion is whether California standards in the

 13	aggregate are at least as protective as applicable

 14	federal standards.	The board found that none of the

 15	regulations at issue in this hearing would cause

 16	California's motor vehicle or off-road engine

 17	emissions standards in the aggregate to be less

 18	protective of public health and welfare than

 19	applicable federal standards.

  1	And they consequently only increase the relative

  2	stringency of California's motor vehicle emissions

  3	control program as compared to the federal motor

  4	vehicle emissions control program.

  5	One element of the Omnibus Regulation

  6	aligns California's requirements for off-road diesel

  7	fueled engines in auxiliary power units with the

  8	corresponding federal emissions requirements and

  9	would, therefore, not cause California's off-road

 10	emissions control program to be less protective than

 11	the federal off-road engine emissions control

 12	program.

 13	Each of the waiver requests, therefore,

 14	satisfies this first waiver criterion.	Now the

 15	second criterion is whether California has

 16	compelling and extraordinary conditions that

 17	justifies need for its own motor vehicle and

 18	off-road engine and equipment emissions control

 19	programs.	California, and particularly the South

  1	nonattainment with the national and clean air

  2	quality standards for particulate matter.	Over half

  3	of California's residents live in those two air

  4	basins.

  5	Furthermore, greenhouse gases emitted by

  6	mobile sources contribute to climate change that

  7	adversely impacts California's economic well being,

  8	public health and natural resources.	Climate change

  9	contributes to significant adverse impacts,

 10	including increased levels of ground level ozone,

 11	raised sea levels, reduced snow pack levels,

 12	increased frequency of droughts and susceptibility

 13	of forests to wildfires.

 14	It is therefore clear that California

 15	continues to experience compelling and extraordinary

 16	conditions that justifies need for its own motor

 17	vehicle and off-road engine and equipment emissions

 18	control program.

 19	The third criterion is whether the motor

 20	vehicle emissions standards and accompanying

  1	certification test procedures.

  2	The emissions standards and accompanying

  3	enforcement procedures at issue in this hearing are

  4	attainable within the specified lead times.

  5	The technologies that manufacturers will

  6	likely use to comply with the standards and

              7	procedures are presently commercially available at

  8	reasonable costs, and the regulations provide

  9	manufacturers sufficient time to develop and

 10	implement future technologies or to refine existing

 11	emission control technologies to meet more stringent

 12	standards that take effect in the 2027 and

 13	subsequent model years.

 14	The new off-road engine equipment

 15	requirements do not regulate new motor vehicles or

 16	motor vehicle engines or (inaudible) Section

 17	209(e)(1) of the Clean Air Act that is (inaudible)

 18	175 horsepower used in farmer construction equipment

 19	and vehicles, new locomotives or locomotive engines.

 20	No issues regarding test procedure inconsistency

  1	Section 209(b)(1)(c), California emission standards

  2	and other emissions-related requirements must comply

  3	with Section 202(a)(3)(c).	That section specifies

  4	lead time and other requirements applicable to

  5	standards for heavy-duty engines and vehicles that

  6	are promulgated by the EPA.

  7	CARB believes that the consistency

  8	criterion in 209(b)(1)(c) (inaudible) of section

  9	202(a)(3)(c) based on the text, the structure,

 10	legislative history and the purpose of Clean Air

 11	Act, Section 209(b).	Congress enacted that section

 12	to permit California, in the first instance, to

 13	establish a separate motor vehicle emissions control

 14	program in order to both respond to the compelling

 15	and extraordinary conditions affecting our state and

 16	to serve as the nation's laboratory with respect to

 17	requiring advanced solutions to addressing vehicular

 18	sources of air pollution.

 19	These core purposes of the waiver

 20	provision would be undermined by importing

  1	In conclusion, the emissions standards

  2	and other emissions-related requirements applicable

  3	to motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines and

  4	non-road engines satisfy the criteria for new

  5	waivers and for new authorization respectively, and

  6	CARB requests that EPA expeditiously grant

  7	California the requested waiver and authorization

  8	actions.	Thank you for this time.

  9	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

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  1	Mary Greene, and I am the senior policy counsel for

  2	sustainability policy at Consumer Reports.

  3	Consumer Reports strongly supports

  4	California's right to act in the interest of its own

  5	citizens and to set heavy-duty vehicle standards

  6	that are more stringent than federal standards.

  7	EPA should approve California's request

  8	in full.	Denying these waivers would represent a

  9	serious step backwards in the administration's goals

 10	to tackle air pollution and climate change and to

 11	mitigate impacts on overburdened communities.

 12	For more than 50 years the EPA has

 13	recognized California's authority under the Clean

 14	Air Act to set more stringent vehicle emission

 15	standards than the federal government.	EPA should

 16	continue to recognize this authority and allow

 17	California to address pollution caused by heavy-duty

 18	vehicles.

 19	This pollution poses serious health

 20	environmental risks.	Heavy-duty vehicles transport

  1	on these vehicles has cost in the forms of increased

  2	air pollution that disproportionately impact low

  3	income communities and communities of color living

  4	near trucking routes, highways and warehouses.

  5	Indeed, the Inland Empire, an area of

  6	California overburdened with warehouses, has some of

  7	the country's worst air quality according to the

               8	EPA.	Allowing California to adopt more stringent

  9	emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles would

 10	help address some of the impacts, and California has

 11	the right to do so in order to protect its own

 12	citizens.

 13	EPA should act swiftly and grant these

 14	waivers.	Thank you very much for your time.

 15	THE MODERATOR:	Thank you for your

 16	comment.	The next speaker is Dylan Jaff.	Please

 17	state your name and affiliation for the record.

 18	MR. JAFF:	Hi, my name is Dylan Jaff and

 19	I'm a California based policy analyst for

 20	sustainability policy at Consumer Reports.	Thank

  1	waiver requests to set truck standards that are more

  2	stringent than federal standards and urge the EPA to

  3	approve California's waiver request in full.