Albany – New York State has $117 million dollars coming to its coffers as a result of
the national settlement stemming from Volkswagen cheating on emission standards.
With asthma in many communities being at crisis levels, Environmental Advocates of New York has
issued a call for Governor Cuomo and state legislators to invest these funds
– 90-percent of which must be specifically designated for diesel
emission reductions – to finally implement the Diesel Emissions
Reduction Act (DERA) of 2006.
Environmental Advocates also issued a new report,
Sitting Idly By: New York’s Children Breathe Dirty Air Due to Diesel Law Delays,
which documents the state’s lack of progress in achieving the spirit
of DERA, which was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support after
diesel’s health impacts gained widespread attention.
DERA has been delayed within the State Budget since 2010. It covers all state-owned and state-contracted-for vehicles.
Caitlin O’Brien, environmental health associate at
Environmental Advocates of New York, and author of
Sitting Idly By said, “Volkswagen lied to authorities and their
consumers by cheating on emission standards, and they contributed to the
air pollution harming the health of all breathers. We’re in a unique
position – New York State can turn a bad situation
into welcome action for communities where lungs are at risk and kids’
lives endangered due to dirty diesel. With all the roll backs we see
happening at the federal level the question is ‘do New York’s leaders
have the political will to lead by example and
protect our air?’”
Eddie Bautista, executive director,
NYC Environmental Justice Alliance
(NYC-EJA) said, "Low-income communities of color have dealt with
disproportionate levels of air pollution from diesel trucks for far too
long. The lack of progressive regulations around
diesel pollution need to be addressed. While $117 million is hardly a
drop in the bucket, the Volkswagen debacle provides a chance to build
momentum in the right direction and undo decades of environmental
racism.”
DERA Delays Harm Public Health
Particulate matter from diesel emissions, also known as soot, can become lodged in the lungs
of otherwise healthy people,
and can cause or increase the risk of premature death, breathing
problems, shortness of breath, asthma attacks, or respiratory
infections. According to
Dr. Christopher Portier of the World Health Organization (WHO),
“... diesel engine exhaust causes lung cancer in humans. Given the
additional health impacts from diesel particulates, exposure to this
mixture of chemicals should be reduced worldwide.”
Studies have found that up to
20-percent of Bronx children have asthma, while Bronx residents suffered asthma-related
deaths at three times the national average. At one school located near the Peace Bridge in Buffalo,
25-percent of students suffered from asthma according to a 2013 study.
Approximately half of all
residents at Albany’s Ezra Prentice Homes have asthma,
where 1,000 diesel trucks pass by daily. Additionally, nearly 300,000 Long Island residents currently suffer from asthma.
Overall, the
American Lung Association,
states that there are 1.4 million adults and 315,000 children living with asthma in New York State, resulting in an estimated
$1.3 billion in direct medical costs and lost productivity.
Spewing Soot: New York’s Unfulfilled Promise
Environmental
Advocates reviewed data from several state agencies accessed through
freedom of information (FOIL) requests. Much of the data released
by the Cuomo Administration is incomplete, indecipherable, and outright
contradictory to previous statements made by Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos. In early
2016, in response to questions from Senator Brad Hoylman
(D-Manhattan), Commissioner Seggos said the state fleet was 82-percent compliant.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) failed to provide compliance information on even a single vehicle
despite having told legislators in 2016 they were in total compliance.
Agriculture and Markets similarly failed to provide information requested.
The
Thruway Authority provided helpful data which demonstrated that 271 of
604 vehicles in the DERA program were compliant: 44-percent. And
according to the Power Authority,
14-percent of their 111 vehicle fleet is compliant with the law.
Meanwhile,
the DEC responded with an array of data from several other agencies,
which fails to explain how the DEC (or some variation of the other
agencies) account for
an 82-percent compliance rate, raising significant confusion about the
status of DEC operations, and DERA compliance government-wide.
O’Brien added,
“There is no joy in pointing out that moms, dads, and kids statewide
have been waiting more than a decade for New York State to follow
through on its promise. Volkswagen funds mean there can be no more
excuses and no more delays.”
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