By TJ Martinell / The Center Square
A collection of state trucking advocacy groups is calling on Gov. Jay Inslee and incoming Gov. Bob Ferguson to put the brakes on implementing new regulations that they warn could severely disrupt operations in Washington and elsewhere.
Washington state is tied to California’s Advanced Clean Trucks program, which directs the trucking industry to transition to zero emissions for medium and heavy-duty trucks. Depending on the class of truck and the year, electric vehicles must make up a certain percentage of sales. For Class 4-8 trucks, for example, half of all sales must be EVs by 2030.
However, in a Dec. 17 letter to Inslee, Ferguson, and several other state governors, the trucking advocates warn that while they’ve sought to reduce carbon emission from both fuels and vehicles, “the damage that our industry will incur by implementing ACT on its current rushed timeline will curtail these critical efforts as clean diesel truck availability will become limited, keeping older, heavier polluting trucks on the road. It will also lead to the inevitable loss in jobs and businesses.”
The trucking industry groups are requesting the states defer implementation of ACT “to provide for an opportunity to work together to find a solution that works toward our state’s environmental goals,” and instead focus more on the SmartWay program started in 2004.
One of the concerns cited by trucking advocates is that there is insufficient EV charging infrastructure, with states like New York lacking a single charging station for those vehicles. Ev trucks typically rely on DC Fast Chargers.
“While truck operators in Washington, California, and Oregon appreciate the continued attempt to secure federal funding for an EV truck charging corridor along Interstate 5, the reality is that it will take years to complete,” the letter states. “We need this infrastructure now.”
The lack of infrastructure is one of many issues industry advocates have highlighted since Washington state adopted ACT in 2021. Another is the inferior travel distance, cargo capacity, and higher costs for EV trucks compared to diesel vehicles.
In response to ACT, Daimler Truck North America announced it is pausing all orders for fossil-fuel trucks intended for Oregon in response to “ambiguity” around the state’s implementation of the law.
Comment on ACT on X, Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, wrote that “it causes problems far beyond the trucking industry. Worse: It’s unnecessary. Widespread economic damage and (more) financial hardship inflicted on working people so a few sanctimonious Leftists can feel morally superior. WA needs to reverse these dumb policies.”
Among the letter’s signees were Washington Trucking Association President Sheri Call, along with the following individuals:
- Colorado Motor Carriers Association President Gregory Fulton
- Trucking Association of Massachusetts Executive Director Kevin Weeks
- Director New Jersey Motor Truck Association Interim Director Jennifer Blazovic
- New Mexico Trucking Association Managing Director Johnny R. Johnson
• Trucking Association of New York President Kendra Hems - Oregon Trucking Association CEO President Jana Jarvis
- Rhode Island Trucking Association President Christopher Maxwell
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