Massachusetts Offers Opportunities For Stakeholder Engagement To Address Transportation Emissions – Environment

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation are a major
focus of the recently issued Massachusetts 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap
(the Roadmap) and the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan (CECP)
for 2030. For further information on the Roadmap and the CECP,
see the authors’ earlier blog post, (Jan. 22, 2021). The Road to Net Zero is Paved With Numerous
Policy Initiatives (Jan. 22, 2021).

This post highlights upcoming opportunities for stakeholder
engagement related to regulatory initiatives to address
transportation emissions, which include Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection (MassDEP) stakeholder meetings and a
public comment period on the Transportation and Climate Initiative
Program (TCI-P) Draft Model Rule.

MassDEP Stakeholder Meetings on MHDV Emissions

The Roadmap notes that medium- and heavy-duty on-road vehicles
(MHDV), rail and aviation produce approximately 14 percent of the
Commonwealth’s GHG emissions, and the CECP outlines strategies
for reducing these emissions. MassDEP will hold two virtual public stakeholder meetings on upcoming
regulatory initiatives to address MHDV emissions. The meetings will
cover the Multi-State Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero Emission
Vehicle Memorandum of Understanding (MHD ZEV MOU) and
MassDEP’s planned adoption of the California MHDV regulations.
The meetings will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, April 28, from 5:00-7:00 p.m., and
Thursday, April 29, from 9:30-11:30 a.m.

In July 2020, Massachusetts joined 14 other states and the
District of Columbia in signing the MHD ZEV MOU, which sets a goal
that 30 percent of all new trucks and buses sold in each signatory
jurisdiction will be zero emission vehicles (ZEV) by 2030 and that
all such sales will be ZEVs by 2050. The signatories will work
together to develop a Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicle
Action Plan to provide a framework for achieving these goals and
will issue a progress report in 2025. The MHD ZEV MOU emphasizes
using the deployment of zero-emission MHDVs to benefit communities
historically burdened with higher levels of air pollution and
contemplates that each signatory will collaborate with
manufacturers, charging and fueling providers, community and
environmental advocates, utilities, corporate fleet owners,
financial institutions and other stakeholders to accelerate MHDV
electrification.

California, a fellow signatory to the MHD ZEV MOU, has approved
through its Air Resource Board (CARB) the Advanced Clean Trucks
(ACT) rule, which requires manufacturers to meet increasing
percentages of zero-emission truck sales over time. CARB is also
developing Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulations with the goal of
achieving a zero-emission truck and bus fleet by 2045, starting
with more easily electrified market segments such as last-mile
delivery. While Massachusetts does not have independent authority
to regulate vehicle fuel efficiency, California may promulgate such
regulations under a federally granted waiver, and other states may
adopt California’s standards. Pursuant to M.G.L. 111, §
142K, Massachusetts is required to adopt California’s vehicle
emissions regulations if they are more stringent than the
equivalent federal regulations. The CECP provides that MassDEP will
adopt and implement the ZEV purchase mandates of ACT by Dec. 31,
2021, and the ACF rule by the end of the year in which the rule is
finalized by California. The upcoming MassDEP stakeholder meetings
will cover both the MHD ZEV MOU and MassDEP’s planned adoption
of the California regulations.

Transportation and Climate Initiative Seeking Public Input on
Proposed Model Rule

Also of note, Massachusetts is a signatory to the TCI-P, a multi-state coalition which will
create an annually declining cap on transportation emissions. The
strategies for addressing transportation emissions included in the
CECP include the implementation of the TCI-P. Under the program,
regulated entities – including fuel suppliers, terminal
operators and distributors – will need to purchase emissions
allowances equivalent to their emissions, with resulting revenue to
be invested by the Commonwealth into clean transit options. MassDEP
is expected to begin implementing the program in 2023 and will also
work to develop a regional Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) by no
later than 2026, a market-based program to support the deployment
of low-carbon substitutes for petroleum-based liquid transportation
fuels.

In a Memorandum of Understanding signed by TCI-P
jurisdictions in December 2020, the coalition committed to
releasing a Model Rule after an opportunity for public comment. The
draft Model Rule, which follows years of technical modeling,
includes registration and reporting requirements, allowance budgets
and scheduled reductions, compliance periods and flexibility
mechanisms, allowance auctions and commitments to advance equity
for communities historically overburdened by pollution and
underserved by the transportation system, among other topics. Once
finalized, the draft Model Rule will be adapted for use by each
signatory in state-specific rulemaking processes. The TCI-P is
seeking public comments on its draft Model Rule by May 7. Comments can be submitted
through an online public input portal.

Conclusion

With regulatory strategies to reduce GHG emissions from
transportation expected to play an important short-term and
long-term role in the Commonwealth’s efforts to meet its
climate goals, it is likely that there will be additional
opportunities for engagement within the coming months and
years.

Massachusetts-based members of Holland & Knight’s Energy
and Environment Team, a multidisciplinary team of lawyers and
professionals who are well informed on emerging environmental
issues, will continue to monitor these developments as they
progress. For questions about this article or for legal counsel
about a specific situation involving your organization, please
contact the authors.

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