Last month the administration of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced its delay in plans to cut pollution from commercial trucks this spring and summer as originally planned. The administration is instead choosing to wait until the end of the year to begin the process to adopt the rules that would cut climate-warming smog and emissions from the freight industry. This delay will result in missing a full model year of vehicles, thus increasing the long-term exposure to diesel particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ozone (O3).

The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) was scheduled to hear new clean-trucking rules, such as Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT), low nitrogen dioxide (Low NOx) and Heavy Duty-Omni bus. These rules would have cut overall greenhouse-gas emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 45% by 2050, and nitrogen dioxide (NOx) emissions would be cut by 54% by the same year.

These rules would have helped the state meet its climate targets, thus resulting in significant improvements in air quality, which would benefit the disproportionately-impacted black and brown communities along the heavily industrial Interstate-70 and Interstate-270 corridors. These stretches are often referred to as “Diesel death zones, as they cut through north Denver and Commerce City. There’s also communities like West Greeley and Erie that have heavy truck traffic from fracking sites. And then there’s the heavy truck traffic in Pueblo and Grand Junction.

A new study reports health effects are occurring at air-pollution levels below the current baseline standards at which researchers previously found a risk of mortality. The study was released in January, from the Health Effects Institute (HEI) in Boston. The comprehensive study aimed to address knowledge gaps related to health effects of long-term exposure to low concentrations of air pollution from diesel particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NOx), and ozone (O3) using a cohort of 68.5 million older Americans enrolled in Medicare programs. The study cohort was followed from 2000-2016 and the researchers found, “Statistically significant evidence of adverse effects of PM2.5 and O3 exposures at concentrations below current national standards. This effect was greater for self-identified racial minorities and people with low income. Furthermore, we found that Black and Medicaid-eligible individuals had a much larger risk of death associated with exposure to PM2.5 and O3 than other subgroups.”

The results of this newly released multi-year study have been released in time to inform the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as it is set to review current levels for National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in late spring 2022.

So, it was a surprise today to see that The New York Times report that the Biden administration proposed strict new limits on pollution from buses, semi-trucks, delivery vans and other heavy trucks. The truck rule from the administration is another rule that seeks to reduce greenhouse gasses produced in these “diesel death zone” areas that are contributing to climate change.

This is another example of the Biden administration’s agenda to address environmental justice that is sought by disproportionately-impacted communities of color like those in North Denver, Commerce City, Erie, West Greeley, Grand Junction and Pueblo. By reducing these greenhouse gas emissions in disproportionately impacted communities we can improve the health (more than 487 cases of respiratory related illness) of those living in these communities, reduce the amount of lost school time (more than 775 days), lost workdays (more than 775), as well reduced health-care-related bills (more than $104.9 million) – all of these are projected expenses for 2023 based on previous year estimates.

This brings me back to the Polis administration’s missed opportunity to protect some of the most vulnerable and disproportionately-impacted communities of color in Denver, Commerce City, Erie, West Greeley, Grand Junction and Pueblo. His staff cited “the extra time from the delay would allow for outreach to disproportionately-impacted communities (DIC) so that the state could build a defensible policy” – yet disproportionately-impacted communities have been asking Polis to do more!

Perhaps Polis can take a cue from the Biden administration and save disproportionately-impacted black and brown communities from the prolonged effects of PM2.5, NOx, and O3 and increased risks of mortality by adopting the ACT rule and Low NOx Heavy-Duty Omnibus rule.

As such, The Environmental Justice Coalition (GreenLatinos, Mi Familia Vota, NAACP Denver, Womxn from the Mountain, and Colorado Working Families Party) supports the adoption of the Clean Trucks rules now! Not sometime in 2023!

Juan Roberto Madrid, BS, MPH, is the Colorado clean transportation & energy-policy advocate for GreenLatinos.