What's Happening in Portland, OR…

The Oregon senate passed a bill recently, by a vote of 16-11, regulating diesel trucks in Portland’s metro area.

House Bill 2007, which passed last week 44-15, mandates truck owners to switch out their diesel engines for newer, cleaner models by 2025. Diesel engines from 2010 forward filter nearly all of the diesel particulates, which are responsible for cancer and various respiratory diseases.

A part of the bill would provide about $50m to assist in paying for engine upgrades. The source of the funds would be from Volkswagen’s settlement for their diesel emissions cheating scandal. Twice before, in 2015 and 2017, the Legislature has unsuccessfully attempted to pass diesel engine regulations similar to this year’s bill.

Getting a bill passed sometimes depends on convincing enough of the voting public of the bills benefits. Flyer printing is a quick, affordable way to sway large numbers of voters to pressure their state legislators.

Co-sponsor of the bill, Senator Michael Dembrow, has stated that cutting diesel pollution, most serious in the Portland area, will have the added benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A cap-and-trade bill to address climate change could have raised revenue to fund replacement of diesel engines beyond the Portland metro area, but it failed to passed the Oregon legislature.

The trucking industry originally opposed both the failed cap-and-trade bill and the diesel bill, but relented on the latter when it was amended to apply to just Portland-area trucks.