32 l<strong>Union</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Concerned</strong> <strong>Scientists</strong>fication standards indicate, especially for particulatematter. If historical experience is a guide, real-worldemissions from new aftertreatment technologies mayspike in the first few years, and systems that requiremore maintenance, such as active particulate filtersand selective catalytic reduction, may have higherrates <strong>of</strong> degradation and failure. In-use testing,onboard diagnostics, and enforcement are necessaryto translate stronger standards into public health gains.STATE AND LOCAL ACTIONStates, local governments, and communities mustwork together to develop and implement innovativeprograms for retr<strong>of</strong>itting diesel equipment. Here area few examples that not only attest to the power<strong>of</strong> a concerted effort to reduce public exposure todiesel pollution, but can also serve as models forthe rest <strong>of</strong> the country.California incentivesThe Golden State’s Carl Moyer Program (CMP)is one <strong>of</strong> the nation’s most creative means for encouragingthe retirement <strong>of</strong> older diesel engines andtheir replacement with newer, cleaner alternatives.By funding the extra capital cost <strong>of</strong> vehicles andequipment that reduce smog-forming nitrogen oxides,this grant program allows diesel highway and <strong>of</strong>fhighwayengines to be replaced with cleaner naturalgas, electric, and diesel engines, helping Californiameet its air quality obligations with critical near-termemission reductions.The CMP successfully reduced smog-formingnitrogen oxide emissions by about 14 tons per daybetween 1999 and 2002—the equivalent <strong>of</strong> approximatelyone percent <strong>of</strong> the state’s total nitrogen oxideemissions from highway vehicles. As <strong>of</strong> April2002, the CMP had also replaced nearly 2,000 olderdiesel engines with new, cleaner diesel engines(primarily in marine vessels, <strong>of</strong>f-highway equipment,and irrigation pumps), and funded more than1,900 alternative-fuel vehicles (mainly transitbuses and refuse trucks). The average cost-effectiveness<strong>of</strong> these projects was about $3,500 per ton<strong>of</strong> nitrogen oxides reduced—well below the$13,000 per ton program limit.Port <strong>of</strong> Los AngelesEnvironmental and community groups, includingthe Natural Resources Defense Council and SanPedro and Peninsula Homeowners United, initiateda legal action against the City and Port <strong>of</strong> Los Angelesover a planned port expansion that would have increasedpollution (NRDC, 2003). The city admittedthat a single cargo vessel can emit as much as a ton<strong>of</strong> smog-forming nitrogen oxides and nearly 100pounds <strong>of</strong> small particles or soot during a singleday in its berth.In March 2003, the parties agreed to a legalsettlement with three key components. First, thesettlement established a $50 million cleanup fundfor air quality and aesthetic mitigation in the portarea. Second, it required the port and city to preparean environmental impact report on the new terminal.And third, it mandated that the port implementspecific steps to reduce pollution, such as usingalternative-fuel trucks instead <strong>of</strong> diesel vehicles at thesite and providing ships with electric power so theydo not have to idle their diesel engines while docked.Boston’s “Big Dig”In the late 1990s, a plan to build more than160 lane miles <strong>of</strong> freeway through the middle <strong>of</strong>downtown Boston raised community concernsabout pollution from construction vehicles in adensely populated and already polluted area. The“Big Dig”—the largest federal construction projectin the country—is one <strong>of</strong> the first efforts to retr<strong>of</strong>ita large number <strong>of</strong> construction vehicles withoxidation catalysts and particulate filters. A coalition<strong>of</strong> federal, state, and local <strong>of</strong>ficials, environmentalorganizations, and community groups workedtogether to develop the Clean Air Construction
<strong>Cleaning</strong> <strong>Up</strong> <strong>Diesel</strong> <strong>Pollution</strong> l 33Initiative, which resulted in the installation <strong>of</strong>120 oxidation catalysts on construction vehiclesand another 100 planned for the future (ALA &ED, 2003). These retr<strong>of</strong>its should reduce particulatematter by some 200 tons over the project’sremaining four or five years.New York’s World Trade CenterOne <strong>of</strong> the largest cleanup and rebuildingefforts in recent history is taking place at thelower Manhattan site <strong>of</strong> the former World TradeCenter. Air pollution has been a serious concernsince September 11, 2001, with cleanup crews stillstruggling to remove toxic soot and debris frombuildings and ventilation systems. After the stateand city governments, environmental groups, andcommunity members raised concerns about theadded pollution from diesel construction andcleanup equipment, Governor Pataki and theNew York State Department <strong>of</strong> EnvironmentalConservation responded in September 2002 byrequiring construction vehicles working downtownto use low-sulfur fuel and be retr<strong>of</strong>itted withthe “best available” pollution control technology.These modest steps to mitigate the impact <strong>of</strong> therebuilding process <strong>of</strong>fer a “green construction”path that should be replicated throughout thecountry.
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