Joe Lieberman: “I rise to express my concern regarding the possibility that the Bush administration will delay the effective date of the…”

“I rise to express my concern regarding the possibility that the Bush administration will delay the effective date of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's December 21, 2000 final rulemaking that sets onroad heavy-duty diesel emission and fuel standards--also known as the diesel/sulfur rule. This rule, the result of years of work and negotiations, would provide essential protections for the public health and the environment by drastically reducing emissions from diesel engines. It is sorely needed. Heavy-duty vehicles are significant contributors to elevated levels of ozone, fine particulate matter, and the primary emissions of several key toxic air pollutants, particularly in the Northeast. Together, highway and non-road heavy-duty engines are responsible for roughly 33 percent of all nitrogen oxide emissions, 75 percent of motor vehicle related PM, and 60 percent of aldehyde emissions in the northeast corridor. In addition to fouling our air, diesel exhaust has also been classified as a probable human carcinogen by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the International Agency for Research of Cancer and the US EPA. This rule will greatly reduce the health and environmental risks resulting from these pollutants, with a projected 90-percent reduction in particulate matter emissions, a 95-percent reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions and a 97-percent reduction in levels of sulfur in highway diesel fuel.”