In
its efforts to reduce air pollution, the state has approved strict
emissions standards for new cars sold in Rhode Island beginning with
the model year 2008.
The
Department of Environmental Management, with the endorsement of
Governor Carcieri, this week adopted the latest California emissions
regulations -- one of the most stringent in the nation. Rhode Island
joins Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont in adopting the
stricter standards.
The
regulations require that at least 10 percent of the 2008 cars and
trucks sold in the state meet "zero-emission" standards, meaning they
release none or a miniscule amount of pollutants.
"These
tough new emissions standards will significantly improve the health of
our environment, and the health of our citizens," Carcieri said in a
statement. "Although much of Rhode Island's air pollution emanates from
outside our state, it is incumbent on us to take the economically
feasible steps necessary to reduce homegrown sources of pollution."
The
DEM had three public hearings between July and last month and heard
from more than 120 people before adopting the regulations.
Critics,
including automakers and dealers associations, said the new standards
will make vehicles more expensive and that the stricter regulations are
not needed because existing federal emissions laws are sufficient to
regulate air pollution from vehicles.
Advocates
of the new standards said they are essential to improve air quality,
and that the federal regulations are too weak to make a real difference.
Vehicles
contribute more than 80 percent of the toxins in Rhode Island air,
according to the DEM. This increases the levels of pollutants such as
ozone, carbon monoxide and benzene. In the summer, ozone levels
occasionally exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's acceptable
limits for healthy air, according to the DEM.
Matt Auten, of the Rhode Island Public Interest Research Group, praised the state's decision to adopt the regulations.
"It's
definitely a huge victory for public health, the environment and
consumers," he said. "This will reduce air pollution across the state
and give consumers access to the cleanest cars on the market."
Auten
said that the Bush administration's lack of concern for stronger
environmental laws at the federal level has forced states to follow the
lead of California, which has been at the forefront in adopting
stricter air pollution laws.
Even
though a portion of Rhode Island's pollution comes from out-of-state
cars traveling in the Northeast corridor on Route 95, other New England
states are working to clean up their air, Auten said. In addition to
the four other states that have adopted the California standards, Maine
has approved a variation of them and New Jersey is considering adoption.
"It
is tough to quantify what comes in and out of state," Auten said. "But
Rhode Island needs to work to reduce the pollution we create in our own
state, and other states are moving forward as well, which should bring
clean air benefits region-wide."
He
said that more than 100,000 Rhode Islanders suffer from asthma,
including 19,000 children. Ozone is a key component of summer smog, and
research has shown that ozone can trigger asthma attacks and can cause
new cases of asthma to develop.
Other
vehicle technologies that will decrease emissions -- such as hydrogen
fuel cells, hybrid-electrics, and super-low emitting gas vehicles --
are being developed.
Stephen
Majkut, the DEM's chief of air resources, said passage of the emissions
standards is the end of a process the governor started in May. Until
now, Rhode Island relied on federal standards, which have no provisions
requiring automakers to sell alternative-fuel vehicles.
"The major thing it does is bring us a cleaner new-car fleet that we would not have otherwise had," he said.
The
regulations require that at least 10 percent of all new vehicles sold
meet the zero-emission standards within three years, but carmakers will
get credit toward that quota if they sell zero-emission vehicles
earlier.
The
alternate technologies from automakers will be one step toward reducing
air pollution from motor vehicles. An earlier state mandate requiring
the use of low-sulfur diesel fuel by 2006 and the continued use of
reformulated gasoline will also reduce air pollution.
"There
are a few things you can do to bring the air pollution numbers down,"
he said. "The manufacturers understood that we were pretty much
committed to going ahead and doing this."
The
DEM said the new regulations will provide substantial reductions in new
vehicle exhaust emissions over the next 20 years. By the year 2020, it
will reduce hydrocarbon emissions in Rhode Island by 16 percent, air
toxin emissions by 25 percent, and greenhouse gas emissions by 2
percent. Majkut said his office is also targeting other sources of air
pollution, such as industrial emissions.
