SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
California has set ambitious standards to promote electric vehicles, and other states have plans to follow. But many vehicle dealers are vocally opposed. NPR's Camila Domonoske reports on a debate in New Jersey over big trucks that previews some of the fights ahead.
CAMILA DOMONOSKE, BYLINE: Heavy trucks make a lot of pollution. It's a particular problem for folks who live near warehouses and ports - big industries in New Jersey. Like California, it's a progressive state with ambitious climate goals. So air quality advocates were thrilled when the state adopted California's Advanced Clean Trucks Rules, or ACT. They require truck manufacturers to sell a certain percentage of zero-emission trucks. For next year, it's 7- to 11%. The state's truck dealers are not happy.
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FRANK PEZZOLLA: And, you know, we all want a cleaner environment, but we just can't do it at this point, the way this is written.
DOMONOSKE: That's Frank Pezzolla testifying at a committee hearing this month in the New Jersey legislature to make the case for delaying these rules. They're set to go into effect January 1. Now, the manufacturers directly regulated by these rules have already agreed to them. The truck makers have a partnership with California. But in hours of testimony, the dealers who actually sell the trucks said they couldn't. To sum it up, here's Spencer Campbell, another dealer.
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SPENCER CAMPBELL: We are not California. We don't have the size, the capacity, nor have made the investments necessary to make ACT work.
DOMONOSKE: Environmental groups say the state is ready. The state's top environmental regulator, who did not speak at the hearing, says preliminary numbers show the industry is 109 trucks away from compliance. Speakers also raised the human lives at stake. Here's Kelly Koontz-Wilson from the Coalition for Healthy Ports.
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KELLY KOONTZ-WILSON: There are people dying in my community from diesel fumes. There are people dying from fine particulate matter. There are people dying from some of these things that the ACT rule could help with.
DOMONOSKE: Heavy electric trucks are significantly pricier up front. There are no zero-emission versions of, say, tow trucks at all. And the biggest electric trucks, tractor trailers, are much harder to sell than, say, the smaller delivery vans that make up most of the market. But regulators and green groups say those challenges are already addressed. The rules have built-in flexibility. Manufacturers could meet them without selling any tow trucks. And a ton of money has already been spent to help with upfront costs and charging - money the industry gladly accepted. Dealers say it's not enough, not yet. And they persuaded some lawmakers. This committee voted unanimously for a bill to delay the start date.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: This concludes our meeting.
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DOMONOSKE: These rules are still going into effect on January 1. This bill is just a bill. Its main sponsor doesn't expect it will pass. And even if it did, the governor has signaled he's committed to the current timeline. And these rules only apply to trucks. But California is mandating zero-emission cars, too. And this fight with environmentalists on one side, dealers on the other, it's a preview of what's coming for passenger vehicles. Laura Perrotta is the president of NJ CAR, a group representing car and truck dealers. She was at that hearing, lobbying for a delay in the truck mandates. And when these EV mandates actually kick in for cars, she says...
LAURA PERROTTA: It's going to cause real reckoning with the auto industry across the country.
DOMONOSKE: About a dozen states plan to follow California's strictest rules for clean cars.
Camila Domonoske, NPR News.
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