Carper's Corner
The Diesel Emissions Reduction Act
June 18, 2008[Below is the text of Senator Carper’s comments to the Senate on June 18, 2008.]
First, I would like to thank my colleagues in the House and Senate for passing S.2146, a bipartisan bill that gives EPA the authority to accept, as part of air quality settlements, diesel emission reduction supplemental environmental projects. I want to also thank Senators Clinton, Inhofe, Cardin, and Alexander for joining Senator Voinovich and me on this legislation.
This bill is a small fix with big consequences – big consequences for jump starting the effort to clean up our nation’s diesel vehicle fleet and making our air clean and toxin-free.
I am a strong advocate for diesel engines – clean diesel. They are powerful, fuel efficient, and with the implementation of EPA’s new fuel and engine regulations, they will also be clean. However, dirty diesel emissions can be deadly.
Reducing emissions from diesel engines is one of the most important air quality challenges facing our country.
EPA estimates there are 11 million diesel engines in America lacking the latest pollution control technology. Together, these engines producing more than 1,000 tons of particulate matter every day.
As a result, dirty diesel emissions are linked to 21,000 premature deaths, hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks, millions of lost work days, and numerous other health impacts every year.
In fact, diesel soot is linked to more premature deaths in this country than firearms, HIV, or drunk driving.
And the risks are nationwide – but especially in urban areas.
Why is dirty diesel so toxic?
Diesel exhaust is a mixture of vapors and fine particles. The small particles have a core of carbon covered with layers of toxins – many of which can to cause cancer.
These toxic fine particles can get deep into the lung – causing inflammation and scaring of the lung. This can lead to respiratory diseases such as bronchitis or asthma…even lung cancer.
If that were not enough, these carcinogens can also get into the blood stream. Chronic exposure to these toxins can lead to cancer and death.
This is why poor air quality caused by old dirty diesel engines, can lead to higher-than-average cancer rates for those living along heavily-traveled interstate highways, like I-95 in my home state of Delaware.
We now have the pollution control technology to greatly reduce these deadly diesel particles – and therefore greatly impact human health.
In 2004, EPA began to address this public health concern by requiring all new heavy-duty highway diesel vehicles to install pollution control technology starting in 2007.
However, this ruling is a problem because it does nothing for the millions of diesel engines that are already on the roadways.
Reducing diesel emission from the current fleet could save an estimated 100,000 lives between now and the year 2030.
In response, Congress enacted in 2005 an aggressive program through the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA). This program established voluntary, national and state grant and loan programs to clean up old diesel engines in buses trucks, trains, and ships.
Our intention was to build upon a program EPA already had in place – which allowed air quality polluters to fund diesel clean-up programs as part of their settlement with the EPA.
For example, in October of last year, EPA reached a settlement agreement with the company American Electric Power. As part of that settlement, American Electric Power will spend approximately, $21 million retrofitting diesel engines with pollution controls.
In fiscal year 2008, Congress appropriated $49 million to the DERA program. This money, plus the approximately $20 million in diesel retrofits funded through settlements a year, would dramatically impact our nation’s air quality.
Unfortunately, EPA determined that if Congress funds the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act grants, EPA could no longer accept diesel projects as part air quality enforcement settlements.
So instead of $70 million in retrofits a year, we just have the appropriated $49 million. This just doesn’t make sense. We should be able to do both programs.
This bill corrects the unintended consequences of successfully funding the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act. And as a result – saves more lives by cleaning up our nation’s diesel engines faster.
This House amended bill also adds D.C. to the 50 states that can participate in the grant program established by the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act.
There is no silver bullet to reduce the environmental risks that lead to cancer, asthma or death, but cleaning up emissions from our nation’s diesel fleet is certainly a positive step.