ARB seeks cleaner technology
ONTARIO - As consumers tighten their belts and businesses reduce inventories, trucking companies in the Inland Empire are feeling the economic pinch.
Valerie Liese, president of Jack Jones Trucking in Ontario, says things might get worse if the state's Air Resource Board approves a plan that requires heavy-duty diesel trucks and buses to be replaced or retrofitted with cleaner technology.
Next week the California Air Resources Board will convene in Sacramento to discuss a rule requiring heavy duty trucks to install diesel exhaust filters on their rigs starting in 2010, said Karen Caesar, public information officer for the board.
But Liese is asking for some leniency on the enforcement date.
"When you don't have money or the bank to lend out to give us the relief, what else can we do?" Liese said.
Liese will be among several owners and drivers traveling to Sacramento to testify at the hearing on Dec. 11 and 12.
A year ago, Liese said, she had 50 trucks delivering goods ranging from medical equipment to furniture. Her company has had to stop operating 12 trucks because of the economic slowdown, she said.
Liese said she is not sure what the exact fiscal impact of the rule would be but does know she will have to park more trucks and lay off more people.
Daniel Del Muro, who owns PDM Transportation in Fontana, has crunched the numbers and said he would have to pay up to $3.5 million to retrofit his rigs over a four-year period.
The proposed rule is a measure to help meet air-quality standards imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Caesar said.
Heavy duty trucks are the last remaining source of unregulated diesel emissions in the state. They are responsible for 32 percent of smog-forming emissions, she said.
Driving Toward a Cleaner California, a coalition of small businesses, nonprofits and business leaders has met with several air resources board members in an effort to have them reconsider the deadline, said coalition member Andrew Acosta.
Those meetings have prompted revisions to the rule, but that is as far as the board will go, Caesar said.
"We need this regulation to meet federal health-based deadlines," she said.
To ease the economic hardship on those impacted, Caesar said the state has offered $1 billion in grants and low-income loans.
Del Muro, who has a fleet of 24 trucks, said he is not eligible to receive any government funding because his trucks travel out of the state.
He said companies should be given more time to recover financially.
To further reduce the impact on owners, Caesar said the board is proposing a staggered deadline, with total compliance reached by 2020.
"We know it's expensive and times are very challenging, but this is something that is a public health concern, we critically need it to clean up the air in California," Caesar said.
