Diesel Campaign Take Action
Establish ambitious goals for reducing risk to Allegheny County citizens by cleaning up the existing diesel fleet. GASP calls on the Allegheny County Health Department, Allegheny County Council and other county officials as well as the PA Department of Environmental Protection to set concrete benchmarks and goals similar to the national goals which aim to reduce diesel emissions 50% by 2010, 75% by 2015 and 85% by 2020. There are many options for reducing diesel exhaust that GASP advocates for in our community:
- Retrofits
- Requiring Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel and cleaner alternative fuels
- Closed crankcase ventilation systems, especially for school and transit buses
- Engine rebuild and replacement
- Truck stop electrification programs
- Requiring cleanup of trucks and construction equipment used in public works projects
Adopt and enforce anti-idling regulations
Allegheny County has already adopted a regulation for school buses, and a regulation for other heavy duty diesel vehicles is presently in process at the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD).
It is critical that these established regulations be enforced by the ACHD and municipal police. Citizens will be the key to notifying the enforcement agencies about nuisance idling in their communities.
When you see a school bus idling unnecessarily, hand the driver a copy of this Idling Violation Notice as a friendly reminder not to idle. (Adobe Acrobat required: 80 KB)
ACHD and the PA Department of Environmental Protection should include diesel cleanup measures as federally-enforceable requirements in our State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the attainment of fine particle and ozone air quality standards. Allegheny County and many of the counties adjacent to us have been designated in non-attainment for fine particulates. Reaching attainment will require a unique strategy that addresses both local and regional stationary sources as well as mobile sources.