The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is clearing the way for California rules that will phase out the sale of diesel-powered trucks.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Biden administration cleared the way Friday for California's plan to phase out a wide range of diesel-powered trucks, part of the state's efforts to drastically cut planet-warming emissions and improve air quality in heavy-traffic areas like ports along the coast. The decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows California — which has some of the nation's worst air pollution — to require truck manufacturers to sell an increasing number of zero-emission trucks over the next couple of decades. The rule applies to a wide range of trucks including box trucks, semitrailers and even large passenger pick-ups. "Under the Clean Air Act, California has longstanding authority to address pollution from cars and trucks. Today's announcement allows the state to take additional steps in reducing their transportation emissions through these new regulatory actions," said EPA Administrator Michael Regan, in a statement. Gov. Gavin Newsom applauded the state's role as a leader for setting ambitious vehicle emission standards. "We're leading the charge to get dirty trucks and buses – the most polluting vehicles – off our streets, and other states and countries are lining up to follow our lead," the Democrat said in a statement. The EPA typically sets standards for tailpipe emissions from passenger cars, trucks and other vehicles, but California has historically been granted waivers to impose its own, stricter standards. Other states can then follow suit, and eight other states plan to adopt California's truck standards, Newsom's office said. In a letter last year, attorneys general from 15 states, Washington, D.C., and New York City urged the EPA to approve the California truck standards. The transportation sector accounts for nearly 40% of California's greenhouse gas emissions. Newsom has already moved to ban the sale of new cars that run entirely on gasoline by 2035. The EPA has not acted on…