States and Cities Declare Creative Solutions to Vehicle Emissions
Preliminary studies suggest that rationalizing collection routes would substantially reduce vehicle miles traveled and, in turn, emissions of air pollutants and GHGs.
SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): States and cities are striving to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in an era when the federal government is moving in the opposite direction. They can take some comfort in the fact that many sources of emissions—electricity generators, heating and cooling systems in buildings, and other stationary sources—remain within state and local control. Not so with vehicles, which account for 23 percent of GHG emissions in New York City. Federal law pre-empts direct state and local regulation of mobile source or “tailpipe” emissions and now the EPA has proposed a substantial rollback of fuel efficiency and emission standards for passenger vehicles. While it remains to be seen whether that rollback (if enacted) will withstand legal challenge, state and local governments have found creative ways to reduce emissions from passenger and commercial vehicles without crossing constitutional lines. A prime example is New York City’s current effort to reform the commercial waste hauling industry by bidding out the right to operate trucks in specific geographic zones. Preliminary studies suggest that rationalizing collection routes would substantially reduce vehicle miles traveled and, in turn, emissions of air pollutants and GHGs.
Commercial Waste Hauling in NYC
As is the case in many large cities, New York’s public sanitation trucks do not service most commercial buildings. The NYC Department of Sanitation only services residences, government buildings and some institutions. This results in dozens of private carting companies competing for commercial customers in all five boroughs. Many carters have long, indirect and scattered pickup routes throughout the city that are often duplicative of the routes of competitors. Garbage trucks running on diesel fuel thus contribute significantly to air quality problems.
Legal and Other Requirements on Emissions
The federal government primarily regulates air pollution through the Clean Air Act (CAA), which empowers the EPA to promulgate National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), setting outdoor concentration levels for various air pollutants. In the 2007 decision Massachusetts v. EPA, the Supreme Court ruled that the CAA also covers GHGs and requires the EPA to regulate GHG emissions if they are found to endanger human health or the environment. The EPA subsequently made that finding.
The federal government regulates tailpipe emissions using a bifurcated system. First, the U.S. DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sets Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards (i.e., miles per gallon) under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). Additionally, under the CAA, the EPA (and in some cases California) sets standards limiting the amounts of specific pollutants that may be released by vehicles. The CAA and CAFE rules work in tandem but the federal government currently seeks to loosen both, an initiative that environmental advocates have condemned.
Air Quality and Emissions
Despite the federal regulatory protections, air quality remains a pervasive issue in New York City. Studies have shown that elevated levels of particulate matter, NOx, SO2, and other pollutants contribute to asthma and other respiratory problems. While pollutant levels have been gradually reducing since 2009, they still remain high near boilers, areas of high building density, industry and traffic congestion. Since emissions from private vehicles and trucks account for 23 percent of the city’s total GHG emissions (it varies from year to year) and are a major contributor to poor air quality, the city has identified vehicle emissions as an integral part of reaching its twin goals of reducing dangerous air pollutants and reducing GHG emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
Courtesy: https://wasteadvantage.com