Calif. Sets Strict Diesel Emissions Rule
The California Air Resources Board Friday adopted the strictest diesel emission standards in the nation, requiring expensive diesel particulate filters on rigs on a timetable, over objections the rule could hurt or shut down smaller trucking companies, the Associated Press reported.
Starting in 2011, the new rules will speed up the replacement of thousands of older trucks and buses that are not as clean as newer models that have tougher, federally mandated emissions standards, AP said.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2011, the rule will require truck owners to install diesel exhaust filters on their rigs, with nearly all vehicles upgraded by 2014, CARB said in a statement.
Truck owners also must replace engines older than the 2010 model year according to a staggered implementation schedule that extends from 2012 to 2022, the agency said.
Many trucking companies say they cannot afford to comply, including one trucker who estimated it would cost him $7 million to replace 26 of his 35 trucks by 2014, AP reported.
Ron Faulkner, president of Tulare, Calif.-based Faulkner Trucking, estimated it would cost $7 million to replace 26 of his 35 older trucks by 2014 and that he did not know if he could afford it, since his company turns a profit of just $50,000 a year, AP said.
The regulation came a day after CARB adopted a sweeping plan to reduce the state’s greenhouse gases, AP reported.
