Feedback split along predictable lines on Washington’s efforts to adopt California’s strict standards on zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

At least 20 activist and environmental organizations supported the move in written comments submitted to the Washington Department of Ecology, which is tackling the new regulations.

Also backing the change are the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. Several zero-emission automotive ventures strongly support the concept, including the troubled electric vehicle company Nikola Corp.

Critics include the Northwest Pulp & Paper Association and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association. While not specifically saying it opposes the new rules, the Western States Petroleum Association opposed adopting California’s standards.

The state Ecology Department is working on implementing a law that the state legislature passed in 2020 to adopt California’s standards, the strictest in the country. The agency is aiming to finish the new regulations by November to meet a Jan. 1, 2022, deadline. The regulations will go into effect Jan. 1, 2024, before 2025 models hit the street.

Under the federal Clean Air Act, most states are restricted from enacting their own emissions standards for new motor vehicles. California is the only state allowed to adopt state standards for vehicle emissions. Other states are allowed to adopt the federal or the stricter California emissions standards.

California maintains two programs for low- and zero-emission vehicles, which have criteria for pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. Zero-emissions vehicles include battery-powered and hydrogen-fueled vehicles.

In 2005, the Washington legislature adopted the California emissions standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty passenger vehicles. It did not adopt California’s standards for ZEVs or low-emissions vehicle standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. The 2020 law adopts California standards for ZEVs and adds standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles — Washington’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule.

The new Washington rules being mapped out tentatively divide the zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles into three categories.

One category covers vans and large pickup trucks. Washington is tentatively looking at requiring 7% of those vehicles sold in the state to be ZEVs by 2025, increasing to 55% by 2035. A second category covers bucket trucks, delivery trucks, school buses and transit buses. Eleven percent of the 2025 models are to be ZEVs, growing to 75% by 2035.

The third category covers tractor-trailer rigs, cement trucks and dump trucks. Seven percent of the 2025 models are to be ZEVs, increasing to 40% by 2035.

If a manufacturer cannot meet those goals in Washington sales, it will be allowed to buy and swap for credits with companies exceeding those targets, similar to cap-and-trade credits.

Under a 2020 law, Washington is required to reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions 45% by 2030, 70% by 2040, and 95% by 2050. Almost 45% of Washington’s annual greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation, according to the Ecology Department.

For and Against

Supporters of the upgrades in standards cited concerns about greenhouse gases but focused more on air pollution causing health problems.

A group of 45 disparate businesses — from Washington and elsewhere — joined in a letter that said: “Transportation is a major source of harmful air pollutants that disproportionately impact low-income communities. Improving air quality is not only the right thing to do for public health and for these communities, it also makes economic sense. Fewer instances of respiratory illness, missed days of work and hospitalizations will increase personal disposable income and help reduce the financial pressure on our healthcare system.”

The letter also said: “A growing number of clean vehicles offer significant cost savings through lower fuel and maintenance costs, and reduce the risk associated with the volatility of fossil fuel prices and supply. However, commercial vehicle electrification still faces significant challenges due to higher upfront costs, weight, charging time, battery range, and the availability of charging infrastructure. Market-enabling policies like the ACT will rapidly unlock the long-term savings, climate, and clean air benefits of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle (MHDV) electrification, while spurring the much-needed widespread deployment of charging stations.”

A group of 10 Washington activist, environmentalist and union organizations joined in another letter that cited preliminary findings from a M.J. Bradley & Associates’ report.  The report said Washington’s ACT rule is estimated to reduce annual medium- and heavy-duty truck greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2050. The study also found that the cost savings to Washington from avoiding negative effects of climate change associated with the rule are worth $8.6 billion.

The letter said: “The upfront costs for electric trucks may be high today, but these costs are rapidly declining as battery costs decline. Upfront vehicle costs are expected to drop concurrently with most zero-emission trucks expected to reach cost parity with their internal combustion counterparts by 2030.”

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a coalition of 21 major domestic and foreign vehicle manufacturers plus their suppliers, submitted comments noting that almost every automaker is developing ZEVs, with several aiming to produce 100% ZEVs in the 2035-2045 time frame. About 130 different models of electric vehicles are expected to be available by 2026, the letter said.

The alliance supports the new rules.

The comments also noted that current credit systems vary from site to state, making it difficult for manufacturers to keep track of the rules in each state. Consequently, the letter suggested a push for a uniform credit system across the nation.

Tesla and Rivian sent in comments that largely echoed several points raised by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

The Nikola Corp. — another electric and hydrogen-fueled vehicle manufacturer — submitted a letter supporting the proposed new rules.

Nikola also said agency and private truck fleets should be given targets to purchase ZEV vehicles. And it called for financial incentives to be provided to individuals and fleets to buy the vehicles.

“Incentive programs could jumpstart market transformation by giving fleets the funding required to become early adopters of ZEVs and help manufacturers reach production scale,” Nikola wrote. “However, ZEV adoption must extend well past early adopters for Washington to reach a 30% (medium and heavy truck) ZEV sales target by 2030. This requires not only sustained incentive availability beyond currently available funding in these programs, but also a transition to more flexible and innovative models that can effectively channel incentive dollars into resale MHD markets, where many small and minority-owned fleets procure new trucks.”

Nikola is facing scandal and an investigation. In late July, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan charged Nikola founder Trevor Milton with criminal and civil securities fraud, alleging he misled investors about the capabilities of much of Nikola’s technology.

The Western States Petroleum Association voiced concerns that the proposed new rules do not mesh with the U.S EPA’s New Source Review standards adopted in 2020. The NSR standards cover increases and decreases in pollution emissions. The association requested that the state align its new rules with federal NSR standards.

The Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association submitted a 15-page document with criticisms and suggestions.

“Programs designed to meet California’s unique air quality needs and economic capabilities are not well-suited to the shared goal of accelerating the deployment of ZEV trucks in Washington and elsewhere across the country,” the association wrote.

The association called for Washington to delay adopting the new rules by a year, to late 2022, in order to study the ramifications — and to wait to see the effects of modifications in the California regulations.

The association also argued that the proposed Washington rules require manufacturers and dealers to meet quotas in selling ZEVS, but do not provide quotas or financial incentives to the people and businesses buying the trucks — especially since the medium-duty and heavy-duty zero emissions trucks are priced much higher than their conventional counterparts.

“In light of the foregoing, the zero-emission (medium-duty) and (heavy-duty) vehicle market in Washington will require significant incentive funding until zero-emission trucks are profitable for trucking businesses. Incentives must be sufficient to offset all of the ZEV truck life-cycle costs that will exceed current commercial vehicle costs,” the manufacturers association wrote.

The letter also noted that zero-emission trucks will need infrastructure such as fueling and recharging stations, which the private and public sectors need to start addressing in depth. That includes finding funding to pay for the needed infrastructure.

The Northwest Pulp & Paper Association opposed the Washington rulemaking on this subject in general terms and requested the state adopt the less stringent federal standards.