WORCESTER, Mass. — In a letter to Gov. Maura Healey and the secretary of Executive office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, state legislators are calling for a two-year delay in implementing the Advanced Clean Truck and Heavy Duty Omnibus rules, which will essentially phase out diesel-fuel trucks in the state.
Massachusetts is set to implement the rules Jan. 1.
The state has said they're expected to produce health, environmental and economic benefits.
Rep. John Marsi is among the legislators who signed the letter.
He said while a two-year delay will not alleviate all issues with this policy, it will at least allow a more in-depth review and provide increased flexibility to the trucking community.
“There are lot of companies that actually buy trucks or use trucks within the state, you know, rely on this. And so, this will be a trickle-down effect for their revenue as well," he said. "We ask the governor and the secretary to consider pushing out this deadline at least two years. So, you can get the right people under the table to talk about how, you know, this actually affects our businesses which reduced tax revenue. And honestly, people will keep their older trucks longer and that will actually defeat the purpose of what they're trying to do."
Marsi said the rule would not apply to emergency vehicles, like fire trucks.
A spokesperson from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said drivers would still be able to register a diesel truck in Massachusetts if they buy out of state.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story included a line attributed to a state representative which said drivers would not be able to register a diesel truck in Massachusetts, even if it's bought out of state. MASSDEP also said the new regulations would not require dealers to sell a certain number of electric vehicles. They don't require fleet managers to purchase a certain number of electric vehicles, but the rules would require manufacturers to produce and make a certain number of electric vehicles available.