Transportation and Environmental
Justice

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President Biden has directed the entire federal government and the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prioritize protecting
and investing in overburdened and underserved communities across
America. EPA plays a leading role in delivering environmental and
public benefits for communities with environmental justice (EJ)
concerns through our policies, programs, and activities.

Pollution from the transportation sector has been a long-standing
obstacle to advancing environmental justice, as many communities
of color and low-income families live near areas where pollution
from vehicles and engines is abundant, and therefore experience
disproportionate exposures to this pollution.

EPA has a number of efforts underway to address pollution from the
transportation sector.

EPA's Comprehensive Approach to New Criteria and
Greenhouse Gas Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Trucks

As identified in President Biden's Executive Order 14037, Strengthening American
Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks, over the next three years EPA plans to issue a series
of regulations to reduce pollution from trucks and buses and to harness improvements
in vehicle technologies. EPA's "Clean Trucks Plan" would result in significant emissions
reductions from new medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and will be a major step towards
improving air quality and addressing the climate crisis.

The regulatory actions that make up the Clean Trucks Plan are as follows:

United States
Environmental Protection
Agency

Office of Transportation and Air Quality

E PA-42 0- F-22-008
March 2022


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•	Setting more stringent nitrogen oxide (NOx) standards for heavy duty trucks beginning in model
year (MY) 2027 and tightening the "Phase 2" greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for MY 2027 and
beyond. A separate fact sheet provides an overview of the proposal EPA is announcing today to
address this first action. This proposal would result in widespread air quality improvements, with
the largest benefits in areas with the worst baseline air quality, and where higher percentages of
people of color reside. It would also help jump start the transition to zero-emission vehicles in the
heavy-duty fleet.

•	Setting more stringent emissions standards for medium-duty commercial vehicles for MY 2027
and later. This category of vehicles includes many "last mile" delivery vehicles which deliver
products to people's door steps every day across the country, and which are rapidly electrifying.
These revised standards will be proposed in combination with new multipollutant standards
for light-duty vehicles for MY 2027 and beyond.

•	Setting "Phase 3" GHG standards for heavy-duty vehicles beginning as soon as MY 2030 that
are significantly stronger than the MY 2027 GHG standards and promote the transition to
electrification of the heavy-duty truck industry.

In this first action, EPA is proposing two regulatory options and is requesting comment on both, as well
as considering the full range of options between them. Both options would set more stringent standards
for NOx emissions beginning in MY 2027 (with Option 2 achieving fewer emissions reductions than
Option 1), increase regulatory useful life, and increase emissions-related warranty periods.

As described in the proposal, lower NOX emissions would result in improved health outcomes
attributable to lower ozone and particulate matter concentrations in communities across the
United States. The largest air quality improvements are predicted to occur in areas with the worst
baseline air quality, where larger numbers of people of color are projected to reside.

Communities near high-traffic roadways experience higher rates of numerous adverse health
effects, so this proposal is especially important for the 72 million people who are estimated to live
near truck freight routes in America (see Figure 1). Residents of these communities are more likely
to be people of color and have lower incomes.

This first action's proposal to tighten the "Phase 2" GHG standards for MY 2027 covers 17 of
the 33 subcategories of vocational and tractor vehicles, including school buses, transit buses,
commercial delivery trucks, and short-haul tractors. EPA is also requesting comment on whether it
would be appropriate in the final rule to increase the stringency of the standards beyond what we
propose for MYs 2027, MY 2028 and MY 2029.

A foundational principle in developing these actions is for EPA to maximize emissions reductions
over the near and long term and to enable the transition to a zero-emissions transportation future.

EPA welcomes public input into this rulemaking. More information on how to comment on the
rule and participate in a virtual public hearing for this proposal are available here: www.epa.gov/
regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/proposed-rule-and-related-materials-control-air-1.


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Figure 1. Major Truck Routes Across the United States1

Source: Federal Highway Administration

EPA's Work to Reduce Mobile Source Emissions in Ports

Through its Ports Initiative. EPA continues to prioritize steps to improve air quality in
communities close in proximity to ports and other goods movement centers because they are
characterized by concentrations of heavy-duty diesel vehicles, vessels, and equipment.

The DEKA Program continues to prioritize funding for projects at ports, as well as projects by
applicants that develop publicly available emissions inventories and emissions reduction targets,
and that engage communities to inform project plans and ensure continued efforts to improve air
quality after the completion of DERA projects. DERA funding has supported zero emission port
projects, including drayage trucks, cranes and yard tractors, ferry and tugboat replacements, and
shore power installations. We expect to see even more applications for zero emissions equipment
as new technologies become available. For more information, visit the webpage on DERA grants
awarded for port projects.

EPA's Ports Initiative provides tools and technical assistance to accelerate adoption of cleaner
technologies and planning practices at ports. These resources include updated port emissions
inventory guidance, assessments of emissions reduction strategies such as marine vessel shore
power, and communitv-port collaboration resources to support effective communication and
engagement between and among port stakeholders to help advance projects that are responsive
to community priorities in improving air quality. EPA will prioritize engagements as appropriate

1 Figure depicts track routes included in the National Highway System; the map does not reflect where populations live.


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with affected communities that have environmental justice concerns to ensure DERA and Ports
Initiative programs address impacts in these communities.

Through the Ports Initiative, EPA is also advising our federal partners on how best to ensure port-
related federal infrastructure investments, including those in the new Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law, lead to cleaner air, climate protection, and environmental justice for communities living near
freight facilities.

EPA's Work to Reduce Emissions from School Buses
and Legacy Vehicles

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's Clean School Bus Program, which will provide funding to
replace existing school buses with low- or zero-emission school buses, allows EPA to prioritize
applications that propose to replace buses that serve high need local educational agencies, low-
income and rural areas, and Tribal schools. EPA plans to open a rebate program offering funding
for school bus replacements in April, and will announce additional program details, including how
these applications will be prioritized, over the next month.

In addition, the American Rescue Plan, enacted last year, allocated $ 7 million for the DERA
program to replace old diesel buses with new, zero-emission electric school buses. This new rebate
program was open exclusively for school districts in underserved communities, tribal schools, and
private fleets serving those schools.

In addition to announcing our proposal for new and more stringent emission standards for heavy-
duty trucks, today EPA is also announcing rebate awards totaling approximately $ 17 million in
combined funding—$7 million in ARP funding and nearly $ 10 million in DERA rebates—for
schools and bus fleet owners to replace older, highly polluting diesel school buses. The ARP
program will award funding for 23 electric school bus replacements and associated charging
infrastructure, and the $ 10 million in DERA rebates will assist with 444 school bus replacements
across the country. To view a detailed list of school district awardees, state, funding amounts, and
the number of buses to be funded, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dera/awarded-dera-rebates.

Since 2012, EPA's school bus rebates have awarded, or are in the process of awarding, over $73
million to replace more than 3,000 old diesel school buses. DERA (with the Ports Initiative) is a
Justice40 pilot program. EPA is exploring how the newly released Climate and Economic Justice
Screening Tool can be used to quantify benefits to underserved communities for both programs.

EPA's Partnerships with State and Local Agencies on Reducing
Mobile Source Pollution

EPA continues to provide guidance on control measures that result in emissions reductions that
may be applied in Clean Air Act-required state implementation plans (SIPs) and in regional
emissions analyses for transportation conformity determinations. For example, EPA has provided
guidance on quantifying emissions reductions from measures to replace or retrofit diesel


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powered vehicle and nonroad equipment.2 This guidance is available on EPA's State and Local
Transportation website. These types of measures can provide emissions reductions in communities
near facilities such as highways, ports, and warehouses.

EPA has also recently updated its transportation conformity guidance for conducting PM hot-
spot analyses used for estimating the emissions and air quality impacts of federally supported
transportation projects such as new or expanded highways or transit facilities with significant
increases in diesel truck or bus traffic.3 In this update, we noted that the guidance may apply for
analysis of transportation projects for other purposes, including assessing near-source air quality in
communities with environmental justice concerns. Such sources include roads, freight terminals,
and railyards.

EPA's Partnerships with Federal Agencies on Truck Electrification

EPA is working closely with the Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation
on building support for the transition to electric vehicles. This includes developing materials
for stakeholder outreach, identifying and supporting funding opportunities, and partnering on
technical research that is needed to support the development of our long-term light-duty vehicle
and our Phase 3 GHG truck standards.

EPA's Work to Evaluate Endangerment from Piston-Engine Aircraft
Lead Emissions

Protecting children's health and reducing lead exposure are two of EPA's top priorities. For years,
EPA has been investigating the air quality impact of lead emissions from piston-engine aircraft near
airports. The agency is now using that information to evaluate whether emissions of lead from
piston-engine aircraft cause or contribute to air pollution that endangers public health or welfare.
For convenience, we refer to this action collectively as the "endangerment finding."

Although levels of airborne lead in the United States have declined 99 percent since 1980, piston-
engine aircraft that operate on leaded fuel are the largest remaining source of lead emissions to air.

Lead exposure can result from multiple sources, including leaded paint, contaminated soil,
industrial emissions from battery recycling or metals processing, and the combustion of fuel or
waste containing lead. Children's exposure to lead can cause irreversible and life-long health
effects. No safe blood lead level in children has been identified. Even low levels of lead in blood
have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention and academic achievement. In adults,
health effects from lead exposure can include cardiovascular effects, increased blood pressure and
incidence of hypertension, decreased kidney function, and reproductive issues.

2	Diesel Retivfit and Replacement Projects: Quantifying and Using Their Emission Benefits in SIPs and Conformity - Guidance for
State and Local Air and Transportation Agencies (EPA-420-B-18-017, March 2018).

3	PM Hot-Spot Guidance: Transportation Conformity Guidance for Quantitative Hot-Spot Analyses in PMJ5 and PM Non-
attainment and Maintenance Areas (EPA-420-B21-038, October 2021).


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EPA currently plans to issue a proposed endangerment finding in 2022, which will undergo public
notice and comment. After evaluating comments on the proposal, we plan to issue any final
endangerment finding in 2023.

EPA's Work to Address Emissions from Aircraft, Rail, Marine,
and Nonroad Sectors

We know that there continue to be adverse impacts caused by emissions from transportation
sources beyond the light- and heavy-duty onroad sectors. While much of our current regulatory
focus is on the light- and heavy-duty vehicle sectors, EPA is working with our federal colleagues,
and state and local partners, to understand and explore regulatory and non-regulatory
opportunities to reduce emissions from the aircraft, rail, marine, and nonroad sectors.

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