Mayor Walsh On Board with Diesel Reduction Ordinance

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Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced Tuesday his support for the “Diesel and Vehicular Emissions Ordinance,” filed by City Councilor Stephen Murphy to help reduce harmful emissions from diesel vehicles and idling.

The proposed ordinance requires all pre-2007 vehicles owned or leased by the City of Boston or used by its contractors to have been retrofit with more effective emission-reduction equipment.

According to a recent press release, since 2007 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has considerably lowered the amount of pollution permissible from new diesel vehicles and equipment. However, because of their durability, many pre-2007 diesel vehicles remain in use. For this reason, federal, state, and local governments have established programs to encourage the installation of retrofit air pollution control equipment on diesel vehicles and other diesel engines.

Requirements for diesel vehicles and equipment used on new City contracts over $2M would phase in over three years.
Fiscal Year 2016: Half of the pre-2007 diesel vehicles and equipment used for the contract would be required to have retrofits achieving at least 20-percent pollution reduction.
Fiscal Year 2017: All pre-2007 diesel vehicles and equipment would be required to have retrofits achieving at least 20-percent pollution reduction.
Fiscal Year 2018: All pre-2007 diesel vehicles and equipment not previously retrofit would be required to have retrofits achieving at least 85-percent—or best available—pollution reductions.