Republican House and Senate leaders are asking Delaware Department of Natueal Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Shawn Garvin revisit plans to ban the sale of the bulk of gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
The rules proposed by DNREC, 35% of all new passenger vehicles would have zero-emissions under a California emissions plan that is being considered by a number of states.
The percentage of sales increases every year afterward. By the fall of 2029, 68% of all new light-duty vehicles sold would have zero emissions. The percentage rises to 82% two years later. By the model year 2035, the sale or registration of new fuel-powered vehicles would be banned.
Electric hybrid vehicles, classified as zero-emission vehicles under the California rules being considered by DBNREC, would be restricted to 20% of new car sales in the 2035 model year.
House leaders went on to say that the cost of electric vehicles will be a burden to businesses and individuals.
In public hearings DNREC held late last year, the agency’s staffers maintained that Delaware needs to take aggressive action because the state’s air quality is not meeting federal standards.
Republican House leaders say all Delaware counties are currently “in attainment of all National Ambient Air Quality Standards as set by the EPA.” They said the state is considered out of compliance only because DNREC has failed to petition the EPA with updated data.
Republicans also pointed to the difficulty of the state meeting the zero-emission standards with its own large fleet of vehicles. One big stumbling block is the lack of charging stations.
Supporters of the California emissions rules say that greenhouse gases need to be reduced below current standards to reduce the rate of global warming.
A Delaware Business Now reader poll showed 78% of readers opposed the 2035 ban. It should be noted that the survey question did not include the provision for hybrid vehicles.
