Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Mexican truck pollution
Valley lawmaker seeks study of Mexican truck pollution
Bee Capitol Bureau
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
SACRAMENTO -- Pollution-spewing Mexican trucks soon will roll through California, but state policy makers know little about how the environment will be affected.
After a three-hour hearing, Sen. Dean Florez said Monday that he will ask the state Environmental Protection Agency to study how an estimated 30,000 additional Mexican trucks on California highways each year will affect the environment.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision this month opened the border to trucks and buses. Federal officials did not conduct an environmental impact study to analyze health effects and other issues surrounding Mexican truck traffic in the Valley or other places in the country. "It seems as though we will be operating in the dark," said Florez, D-Shafter. "We don't have real numbers. We don't have any way of even understanding the impact."
Florez and others worry that Mexican trucks, some of which are dirtier than U.S. models, will foil California's effort to clean its polluted air. About 40 people with interests ranging from transportation to air quality met Monday in the Capitol. California harbors more smog than any other state, in part because of heavy-duty diesel truck emissions. Such trucks account for just 4% of vehicle traffic in California, but they cause 40% of all nitrogen oxide emissions, which help form ozone.
Rob Ogelsby, legislative director of the California Air Resources Board, said preliminary data suggest Mexican trucks could add up to 50 tons of nitrogen oxides per day in Southern California. Mexican trucks, he said, emit roughly twice as much as their U.S. counterparts. He added there was much to learn about the trucks' possible effects.
Florez said he won't let uncertainties stop California from taking steps to protect its environment. He introduced a bill last week that would make Mexican trucks abide by state emissions standards.
Similar legislation by Assembly Member Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, would require all trucks entering California to meet federal emissions standards for their model years. Gail Ruderman Feuer, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said both measures have merit but could face legal hurdles.
Bee Capitol Bureau
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
SACRAMENTO -- Pollution-spewing Mexican trucks soon will roll through California, but state policy makers know little about how the environment will be affected.
After a three-hour hearing, Sen. Dean Florez said Monday that he will ask the state Environmental Protection Agency to study how an estimated 30,000 additional Mexican trucks on California highways each year will affect the environment.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision this month opened the border to trucks and buses. Federal officials did not conduct an environmental impact study to analyze health effects and other issues surrounding Mexican truck traffic in the Valley or other places in the country. "It seems as though we will be operating in the dark," said Florez, D-Shafter. "We don't have real numbers. We don't have any way of even understanding the impact."
Florez and others worry that Mexican trucks, some of which are dirtier than U.S. models, will foil California's effort to clean its polluted air. About 40 people with interests ranging from transportation to air quality met Monday in the Capitol. California harbors more smog than any other state, in part because of heavy-duty diesel truck emissions. Such trucks account for just 4% of vehicle traffic in California, but they cause 40% of all nitrogen oxide emissions, which help form ozone.
Rob Ogelsby, legislative director of the California Air Resources Board, said preliminary data suggest Mexican trucks could add up to 50 tons of nitrogen oxides per day in Southern California. Mexican trucks, he said, emit roughly twice as much as their U.S. counterparts. He added there was much to learn about the trucks' possible effects.
Florez said he won't let uncertainties stop California from taking steps to protect its environment. He introduced a bill last week that would make Mexican trucks abide by state emissions standards.
Similar legislation by Assembly Member Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, would require all trucks entering California to meet federal emissions standards for their model years. Gail Ruderman Feuer, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said both measures have merit but could face legal hurdles.
# posted by Senator Dean Florez @ 9:21 AM 
