On Monday morning, June 22, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla visited the city of Commerce to announce a historic $500 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to transition Southern California’s freight industry to zero-emission vehicles.
Although Southern California is known for its sunshine, it’s also home to some of the dirtiest air in America.
About 40% of the nation’s imports arrive in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach before being transported across the country in trucks and trains. That produces huge amounts of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and diesel particulate pollution.
“We shouldn’t have to choose between being a pivotal part of our nation’s economy and having clean air for our children to breathe,” Padilla said at a press conference in Bandini Park. “We can do both. We must do both. That’s why the $500 million that we’re celebrating today is such a big deal.”
The grant is the single largest investment in clean air in the EPA’s history. It will be spent in Los Angeles County, Orange County and the Inland Empire to purchase zero-emission technology for trucks, trains, cargo handling equipment and smaller vehicles that deliver packages to their final destination.
The money was awarded through EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program, which was made possible by the Biden-Harris administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. The CPRG awarded a total $4.3 billion across 25 programs to reduce air pollution and accelerate America’s transition to clean energy.
When combined, the proposed projects are estimated to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by as much as 971 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050. That is equivalent to the emissions produced by 5 million homes each year for more than 25 years.
But the upcoming election casts a shadow of doubt over the future of clean energy funding. Donald Trump recently vowed to end federal support for electric vehicles on his first day in office.
“I will end the Electric Vehicle Mandate on Day One — thereby saving the U.S. auto industry from complete obliteration, and saving U.S. customers thousands of dollars per car,” Trump said in his address at the RNC in Milwaukee last Thursday.
When asked about potential threats to the CPRG program Padilla said he likes to think the money is “as protected as it can be.”
“But if what we’ve seen from the Republican majority in the House of Representatives this session is any indicator,” he said, “we can’t take anything for granted, which is why we’re moving forward aggressively with the timetable.”
Padilla said the South Coast Air Quality Management District will be working quickly to commit grant dollars to specific clean-energy projects, adding that he will fight in the Senate to protect the investments.
He explained that this is a cause close to his heart as he vividly remembers the terrible smog from his childhood in the San Fernando Valley.
“We would, at a minimum, not be let out to play during recess or, on a really bad day, get sent home from school because the air was that bad,” he said. “That reality is still the case for far too many children.”
Related links
Air pollution advisory issued across Southern California after July 4th fireworks
Quarterly update meeting set this month for Clean Air plan at both ports of LA, Long Beach
Ports of LA, Long Beach agree to invest in truck charging infrastructure
EPA’s strict new rules for heavy-duty trucks spark strong Southern California responses
The city of Commerce, where press conference was held, is an industrial hub for the distribution of goods and has some of the worst congestion and air pollution in L.A. County.
As Padilla and EPA representatives delivered their remarks in the Bandini Park’s basketball court, trucks whizzed by on the 710 overpass, while loud clangs rang out from the adjacent train yard — conditions the neighborhood’s children experience on a daily basis.
EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman said the “unprecedented funding” will mean that “the frequenters here of Bandini Park will experience fewer visits to the emergency room because of asthma and fewer respiratory illnesses writ large due to air pollution.”
Later that day Padilla led EPA officials on a tour of freight transportation operators in the Inland Empire to observe the effects of air pollution and visit WattEV in San Bernardino, the Inland Empire’s first heavy-duty truck charging depot. The hope is that this funding will be used to replicate similar charging stations across Southern California.
The $500 million grant was lauded by Democratic politicians from across Southern California including Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino.
“The Inland Empire experiences some of the worst levels of pollution in our nation,” he said, “and this funding is instrumental to our ongoing mission to lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduce pollution, and improve the health and well-being of our region’s residents.”