City Addresses Diesel Pollution In Latest Resolution

From The Multnomach County Board: The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners and the Portland City Council passed parallel resolutions Thursday committing to establish a Clean Air Construction Procurement Standard. The Standard would require equipment used on City and County construction projects to dramatically reduce emissions from older diesel engines.

The primary pollutants of concern from diesel engines are diesel particulate matter and nitrous oxides. Multnomah County and the City of Portland residents have the highest exposure to air toxics in the state and are well above national averages for cancer risk and respiratory hazards from air toxics. Soot from older diesel engines is among the most prevalent and harmful airborne toxins in the region.

According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Portland Metro area registers diesel particulate matter (PM) levels above the ambient benchmark concentration set by the state. DEQ estimates the emissions lead to more than 400 premature deaths and $3 billion in economic losses a year.

More than 50 percent of diesel particulate matter in the region comes from construction equipment. People with lower incomes shoulder a disproportionate share of the pollution, as they are more likely to live in denser neighborhoods near congested roadways.

Although air quality affects everyone, a 2014 Multnomah County Health Department report found African Americans are three times more likely to be exposed to diesel particulate matter, and Latinos are 2.5 times more likely, than white county residents.

“Everybody deserves to have clean air to breathe, but the shocking truth to many of us who call this beautiful, green state our home is that our air in the Portland Metro area is often not safe,” said County Chair Deborah Kafoury. “Today’s action by the County Board of Commissioners and the City Council is an important step toward moving our region to having the clean air that we all want.”

The action comes after Multnomah County and the City of Portland completed a $2.3 million upgrade to their fleets in 2011, ensuring older engines were retrofitted with pollution control devices. The City and the County also piloted clean construction requirements at that time.

Since 2016, the County and the City have worked with a coalition of local jurisdictions to establish a single standard that could be applicable across jurisdictions and create a market for clean equipment. The goal is to speed up a transition to cleaner equipment with pollution controls. Because diesel equipment is so durable, the transition to newer equipment has been slow.

“We are tackling the worst source of pollution with the best strategy available to us,” said Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler. “We have advocated for regulation of diesel emissions at the state level to improve air quality for Oregonians and will continue to do so. At the same time, we are committed to doing what we can at the local level to reduce diesel pollution and protect the health of Portlanders now and for future generations.”

City and county staff will submit final procurement policies by the end of the year. The policy applies to non-road diesel equipment with equal to or greater than 100 horsepower, and on-road dump and cement trucks. It will include a phase-in period to allow contractors the time and flexibility to plan for the new standard.

Some exemptions will also be available in the case of safety, emergency, or economic hardship. Multnomah County and the City of Portland plan to ask the Oregon Legislature to set aside a portion of the Volkswagen settlement money to help disadvantaged, minority, and women-owned businesses upgrade their equipment to comply with the standard.

To find out more, go to multco.us/sustainabilty.

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