NEW TECHNOLOGY * USA - Mandates on the way for IE truckers

Air-quality regulators are counting on tough new diesel rules to protect health and clean up California skies, but truckers are worried those mandates will force some drivers out of business

San Bernardino,CA,USA -The San Bernardino Sun, by Andrew Edwards -16 Dec 2008: -- George Evans, a trucker for Southern Freight Inc., discusses new state diesel-truck regulations at the Truck Town Truck Stop in Fontana on Tuesday. Many truckers are worried about their ability to comply with the rules adopted last week by the California Air Resources Board. I don't see how we re going to operate, Evans said... "You're going to see the extinction of a lot of trucking companies," predicted Valerie Liese, president of Jack Jones Trucking in Ontario... Air Resources Board staffers consider heavy diesel trucks to be the state's biggest generator of unregulated diesel emissions. Big rigs account for 40 percent of carcinogenic emissions from mobile diesel engines, according to the board... The new policy will require truckers hauling goods in California to make a series of anti-pollution investments over the next several years. Diesel exhaust filters will be required starting in January 2011... Air Resources Board officials report that the mandates will apply to about 400,000 California-registered vehicles and more than 500,000 other trucks that haul goods in the Golden State... According to the state's analysis, new diesel regulations will cost $5.5 billion to implement and affect 170,000 California businesses... But air-quality officials say that pollution is already expensive for people who have to breathe California's air. Board staffers estimate the new rules will prevent about 9,400 premature deaths and reduce asthma cases and sick days... The predicted health benefits are valued at an estimated $48 billion to $68 billion...


* County delays requiring state's new diesel mandates

Hollister,San Benito County,CAL,USA -The Hollister Free Lance, by Colin McConville -Dec 17, 2008: -- Supervisors have put off implementing state-mandated regulations requiring diesel-powered trucks to install a mechanism that reduces pollution... Outfitting the trucks with the filters is only the first phase of the new regulations, said Supervisor Reb Monaco of the regulations set forth by the California Air Resources Board. The second calls for the replacement of all trucks without the diesel particulate filters... San Benito County, which lacks an alternative mode of transportation for goods like produce, is forced to rely heavily on diesel-powered trucks, officials contend. The scope of these regulations is not limited just to agricultural shipping. Richard Bettencourt, a dump truck broker, said it affects "everybody" - such as the construction and farming industries... "This isn't just truckers," he said... With the already grim economic outlook for the county, the added expense could spell disaster, he said... In its resolution, the county acknowledges the California Air Resources Board and this legislation it passed but also said that the state didn't consider the economic consequences for rural communities such as San Benito County. Many rural California counties include large numbers of trucks that would need new equipment installed. Another troubling piece of that scenario is how many banks will not allow loans to outfit trucks more than 10 years old...


* New CARB diesel rule: What trucks are good and for how long?

Cal,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -December 17, 2008: -- California approved two new regulations for diesel trucks this past week, and it took only a few days before rumors about the new “on-road diesel truck and bus” rule blanketed truck stops and terminals like a thick snowfall... Staff members are still nailing down details of the board’s wishes, but here’s a basic breakdown of what the new regulation means for one-truck operations: Trucks with 2003 or older model year engines will be prevented from legally entering the state on Jan. 1, 2014, unless technology is developed that allows them to meet California’s standard. Technology is not expected to be developed that would help those trucks... A truck with a 2004 model year engine and a CARB-approved diesel particulate filter would be eligible to travel into California until Jan. 1, 2017, and possibly 2018, depending on CARB staff interpretation of a last-minute change that the agency’s board made on Friday... Any one-truck operation with a 2007 model year engine or newer would meet California’s emissions regulation until January 2021... Carriers may apply to CARB for a three-day pass to allow them access for one truck to be in the state without meeting the diesel rule. The pass is good only once, annually... Another important date: In January 2011, one-truck operations entering the state will be required to register their truck information with CARB, and will be required to update it annually...