(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.”