Commercial vehicles powered by alternative fuels will help clean DeKalb County’s air

By Kevin Greiner, President and CEO of Gas South

DeKalb is a terrific place to live, offering natural beauty, a great quality of life, and a growing economy. Unfortunately, clean air remains a challenge.

The American Lung Association recently released its 2013 State of the Air Report, which gave DeKalb County low marks for air quality.

The county received an “F” for unhealthy levels of ozone and a “C” for particle pollution. That means the county had too many days when the air was unhealthy for certain groups, such as children and the elderly. Other parts of Georgia, from Columbus to Augusta, also fared poorly on the Lung Association’s report card.

Motor vehicle exhaust is a major contributor to DeKalb’s poor air quality. Anyone who’s been stuck in rush-hour traffic in metro Atlanta is familiar with the parade of large commercial vehicles crowding the asphalt.

A great way to improve the air quality in DeKalb County and across Georgia is to increase the number of commercial vehicles powered by alternative fuels such as natural gas, propane and electricity. A natural gas powered vehicle, for example, reduces smog-producing pollutants by up to 90 percent.

Cleaning the county’s air will improve the health of the region’s population. Air pollution from cars, factories and power plants can trigger asthma attacks. More than 14,000 children and 51,200 adults in DeKalb have asthma, according to the Lung Association.

There’s an economic argument to be made as well. A Florida Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition study found that converting 720 heavy-duty trucks from diesel to natural gas would result in annual fuel savings of $16.1 million.

If these economic and environmental benefits are possible for our neighbors, they can certainly be possible in Georgia.

So, what can be done? An important step is to offer businesses a financial incentive to use vehicles powered by alternative fuels. Georgia already offers an alternative fuel vehicle tax incentive for low-emission and zero-emission passenger vehicles. It makes sense to expand that program to cover commercial vehicles, too.

The Georgia General Assembly next session will consider House Bill 348, sponsored by State Rep. Don Parsons, R-Marietta that would establish tax credits for commercial alternative fuel vehicles purchased in Georgia.

Such an incentive would keep more diesel-powered vehicles off the roads, reducing harmful emissions. And that means better air quality and an improved environment for DeKalb County and all of Georgia.