For far too long, we’ve accepted the vehicle exhaust that clouds our roads and cities as just the price we pay to move from one place to another. It’s become our new normal. Our acceptance of this status quo is part of the reason that the transportation sector was the largest source of greenhouse gases in the United States in 2022.
This ruling brings us one step closer to protecting the health of our communities and ensuring that polluting companies violating clean air laws can’t avoid accountability.
When illegally idling vehicles produce toxic fumes, citizens should be able to fight back.
CLF has won a First Circuit Court of Appeals decision in a lawsuit against Academy Express regarding the bus company’s unlawful tailpipe emissions.
Greyhound’s buses have been unlawfully idling at the South Station bus terminal and at its bus lot in South Boston, releasing toxic emissions into the neighborhood.
September 3, 2024 (Boston, MA) – Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and Durham School Services, along with its parent company National Express, have settled a lawsuit over Clean Air Act violations in environmental justice neighborhoods in Holyoke and Worcester. The settlement requires the school bus company to pay more than $1.4 million and stop unlawful excessive idling. “There… Continue reading CLF, School Bus Operator Settle Clean Air Lawsuit
CLF is fighting to enforce anti-idling laws and protect communities from tailpipe pollution.
“Every year, vehicle emissions are linked to thousands of deaths in the northeast,” said Heather Govern, Director of CLF’s Clean Air and Water program. “Large bus companies must be held accountable for ignoring idling laws designed to limit toxic emissions and protect public health. CLF filed this appeal to continue the fight for cleaner air in our communities.”
“Idling vehicles spread toxic tailpipe pollution into many communities already overburdened with harmful emissions and asthma,” said CLF attorney Erica Kyzmir-McKeon. “Buses are some of the most egregious sources of this pollution, and First Transit will now take the right steps to address the problem. CLF’s settlement will promote healthier communities by reducing excessive idling, supporting urban farming and green spaces, and enhancing air monitoring in environmental justice communities.”
“Once again the Biden Administration is trying to cover its ongoing support for fossil fuels with half measures on climate,” said CLF Senior Vice President of Law and Policy Kate Sinding Daly. “The new standards fall short of President Biden’s stated ambitions and those of major auto manufacturers to convert 100% of the cars sold in the U.S. to electric by 2035. The pollution rules announced today simply won’t get us there, so we’ll continue to push states and the federal government to adopt California’s much stricter emissions regulations.”
