The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission approved the Clean Trucks Rule, which adopts California’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Rule and Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Omnibus rules (HD Omnibus) for Oregon.

Under the ACT Rule, Oregon requires medium- and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers to sell zero-emission vehicles as a certain percentage of sales, beginning with the 2025 vehicle model year.

The HD Omnibus rules strengthen nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) emission standards for new truck engines (both diesel and non-diesel engines), in addition to other requirements for these engines.

Together, the rules will not only ensure new diesel trucks are as clean as possible, they also put Oregon on a path towards a zero-carbon transportation future.

Transportation accounts for approximately 40% of statewide greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon and trucks are among Oregon’s fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions and rising. In Oregon, heavy-duty trucks and buses are responsible for nearly 23% of total transportation sector greenhouse gas emissions.

—Rachel Sakata, Department of Environmental Quality’s senior air quality planner

Diesel engines are responsible for approximately 25% of all NO_x emissions in the state, a precursor to the formation of ground level ozone. Communities across Oregon, including the Portland-metropolitan area and the Rogue Valley have experienced increasing levels of ozone in recent years.

Five other states—Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Washington—are considering taking similar action.