California Eyes Requiring Particulate Filters on All Heavy Trucks

California regulators are considering a first-in-the-nation plan that would require almost all privately owned heavy-duty trucks in the state to install particulate filters to reduce soot emissions by 85%, the San Jose Mercury News reported Thursday.

The filters would cost $15,000 to $20,000 per truck, and those backing the proposal have cited public health benefits, while opponents called cost-prohibitive, especially in a time of economic downturn, the paper said.

If the plan is approved by the California Air Resources Board Friday, it would take effect in 2010, with nearly all trucks required to be retrofitted by 2014, the Mercury-News said.

The regulation would affect 1 million truckers, with half of them out-of-state registrants who drive in the state, it reported.

Critics of the plan include the California Trucking Association, the California Chamber of Commerce and roughly 100 other business groups, the paper reported.