The City of Portland Joins HAO
Oregon Toxics Alliance is proud to welcome the City of Portland to the Healthy Air Oregon Campaign!
The announcement came via Mayor Sam Adams’ blog:
The City of Portland is proud to join Oregon Toxics Alliance’s Healthy Air Oregon Campaign. Current members include government entities such as Multnomah County and the City of Eugene. National and local businesses like Enterprise Rent a Car and Elephants Deli are partners as well as non-profit and educational organizations. Check out Oregon Toxics Alliance’s web site for a full list of partners. These businesses and government offices have endorsed and adopted idling reduction policies based on Healthy Air Oregon campaign guidelines.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality recently completed a report on medium- and heavy-duty vehicle idling that concluded that idling by commercial vehicles uses up to 38 million gallons of fuel per year at a total cost of $108 million. This results in the emission of 381,000 metric tons of CO2. Much of the idling that is done could be characterized as avoidable, in some cases supported by the availability of a variety of technological upgrades that can more efficiently serve the operator’s needs than by running the propulsion engine. The report makes a recommendation that the state adopt an idling law based on a national model already in effect in all or portions of 29 states.
The City of Portland’s own fleet has an idle reduction policy which states that employees shall reduce idling of City vehicles and equipment whenever possible to improve engine life, reduce fuel costs, reduce vehicle emissions, and improve health and safety. According to Fleet industry analysis, reducing idle time can save about 12% of the fuel they consume, which equates to a potential savings of about 228,000 gallons per year. Please see the Portland City Fleet Idling Reduction Policy in its entirety here.
City of Portland’s Idle Reduction Policy
For more information please visit the City of Portland’s blog post.
