Last week, State Senator Rosemary Brown, a Republican senator representing Lackawanna, Monroe, and Wayne Counties, circulated a memo to her colleagues soliciting cosponsors for a bill creating a state Near Zero Emission Truck Incentive Program.

The proposal, supported by PMTA, is based on the fact that trucks produced beginning in model year 2010 emit a fraction of NOx and particulate matter of earlier trucks. The quickest way to reduce emission from Pennsylvania trucks is to incentivize the replacement of some of these trucks with newer models.

The bill would do this by creating a grant program for the purchase of a model year 2010 or later truck if accompanied by a trade-in of a pre-2010 diesel truck.

The federal government took steps to tightly regulate the emissions systems in heavy-duty trucks between model years 2007 and 2010 by requiring standardization of selective catalytic reduction and diesel particulate filters. The result is that a truck sold in 2006 emits roughly 10 times the amount of NOx and particulate matter as today’s near zero emissions trucks.

Today, about 34% of trucks registered in Pennsylvania are pre-2010 models, which do not contain the latest emissions components. Though the Commonwealth has a higher percentage of newer trucks on the road than many other states, these trucks contribute the majority of emissions from the trucking industry in the state. The proposed grant program will lead to the replacement of these trucks with newer, much cleaner trucks, resulting in lower emissions from the trucking industry and cleaner air for all.

In addition, it’s important to note that National Highway Traffic Administration research is clear that newer trucks have better safety records. The addition of multiple standard safety technologies by original equipment manufacturers in recent years has led to safer trucks. Generally, replacing older trucks with trucks having newer standard safety equipment will increase safety on the road.

The legislation will require PennDOT and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to apply for federal funds available for the purpose of reducing pollution. With these funds, PennDOT will provide a grant to incentivize the purchase of model year 2010 or later trucks to be titled and registered in Pennsylvania, if accompanied by a trade-in of a pre-2010 diesel truck that is also titled and registered in Pennsylvania. The trade-in cannot be titled and registered in the state again.

No other single technology transfer can affect Pennsylvania’s air quality and provide immediate health benefits as much as replacing pre-2010 trucks with post-2010 models. Unfortunately, the Federal Excise Tax currently acts as a disincentive to companies wishing to update their equipment to the latest technology. Providing an incentive program at the state level helps offset this impediment and avoids costly mandates that would cripple the trucking industry.

PMTA thanks Sen. Brown for sponsoring this important bill and encourages members to contact their state senators to ask them to cosponsor the bill. Senate contact information can be found here. To find your state senator, follow this link.