A map from a presentation by Dr. Gaige Kerr of George Washington University showing recent research that he led earlier this year on the rise of warehouses across the United States.
What’s new: A coalition of environmental and community groups, including EDF, Clean Water Action and EarthJustice, held a virtual town hall last month with New Jersey state lawmakers and residents to promote pending legislation that would limit harmful truck pollution near warehouses, ports and other high-traffic facilities. Attendees heard from state Assemblymembers Andrea Katz and Carol Murphy, researchers and policy experts as they detailed the growth of the state’s warehouse and truck pollution, its health impacts and how the the Warehouse and Port Pollution Reduction Act (A4679/S3546) would help alleviate it.
Why it matters: The proliferation of the e-commerce industry in recent years has contributed to a steady rise in warehouses and other high-traffic facilities across the United States. Densely populated states like New Jersey have been disproportionately affected, with residents of color and of lower incomes more likely to have a warehouse sited near their homes. In New Jersey, freight trucks make up 11% of the on-road fleet but emit 56% of the transportation sector’s nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 33% of its fine particulate matter (known as PM2.5). In 2023, PM2.5 from on-road diesel vehicles led to 340 deaths, nearly 3,000 cancer cases, 164 heart attacks, 3,921 asthma flareups and 110 asthma emergency room visits in the state.
What would the new bill do? The bill centers around a regulation known as an Indirect Source Rule (ISR). California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District enacted a similar rule in 2021, and it is already driving down truck pollution in Southern California. It combines “carrot” and “stick” measures that create incentives for operators to reduce on-site pollution. These include an emissions reduction mandate and a flexible menu of investments that facilities can choose to come into compliance, including zero emissions trucks, charging equipment and solar panels. Grants and other financial incentives are available at the national, state and utility levels to help lower the costs of these investments. The bill would also mandate more transparency around emissions, increase community involvement in the permitting process for new facilities, and impose fines for noncompliance.
What they’re saying: Proponents of the bill expressed an urgent need to reduce the health harms posed by freight truck air pollution. Assemblywoman Katz, co-sponsor of the bill, acknowledged the benefits of e-commerce while calling on warehouse operators to do more to protect people’s health: “I’m not categorically opposed to warehouses. I like to get my Amazon deliveries the next day—that’s nice! I just want them to be responsible neighbors.”
Assemblywoman Murphy stressed the role of regulation, adding “When we have trucks that are projecting emissions through diesel and things of that nature, we’re also starting to talk about how that impacts our breathing…now we have to start turning out the regulations for those trucks.”
What’s next: EDF and partners will continue to assist legislators as they refine the bill and build support for it in the state, with To learn more about the bill and get updates on its progress, visit this page on the state legislature’s website.
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