California to Curb Truck Emissions

By REBECCA SMITH
New regulations in California for heavy-duty diesel trucks could force a sweeping overhaul of the state's trucking industry and pave the way for similar changes elsewhere.
The California Air Resources Board voted Friday to require trucks after 2011 to gradually reduce emissions of soot and, eventually, nitrous oxides implicated in smog formation. Remedies range from installing diesel exhaust filters at a cost of $10,000 and higher, to buying new engines or replacing trucks altogether.
Nearly all vehicles must be upgraded by 2014, and engines older than 2010 models will have to be replaced between 2012 and 2022. The goal: Reduce soot pollution 85% by 2022.
The rule caps an eight-year campaign by the board to curb diesel emissions, starting with the smallest sources and working up to the roughly one million heavy-duty diesel vehicles that operate in the state. An additional rule approved Friday requires low-friction tires and aerodynamic modifications to improve fuel economy.
The air board's actions are followed closely by experts outside California. Other states often piggyback off California's detailed regulatory process, and once manufacturers make changes for the state, it's easier to do the same elsewhere. Many technologies required by California later became standard nationwide, such as catalytic converters, which the state required in the 1970s.
Trucking groups argued that the cost of the rules approved Friday, about $5.4 billion, amounts to an excessive burden when the economy is mired in recession and truck revenues have dropped. The California Trucking Association, which represents 3,600 trucking firms operating 350,000 vehicles, urged the board to give truckers more time to comply.
But the board concluded that the state's air districts wouldn't meet federal air-quality standards without action now. Heavy-duty trucks are responsible for 32% of smog-forming emissions and 40% of diesel emissions from mobile sources, the air board found.
"This accelerates the cleanup of equipment on the road today," said Tom Cackette, the board's executive officer. The board estimates that 350,000 trucks will be replaced faster than normal because of the rule and that thousands of lives will be spared the health consequences of polluted air.
Even though newer trucks are cleaner, "waiting for the turnover to occur naturally just isn't fast enough," said Kathryn Phillips, head of the transportation and clean-air program for the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group. Other states could follow California's lead in restricting diesel emissions, Ms. Phillips said, including those with big pollution problems and large ports that are magnets for trucking activity. New York, Massachusetts and Texas have shown a particular interest in the California rules, she said.
Some truckers will be able to simply add equipment in the early years of the rule but ultimately will have to scrap trucks for cleaner and costlier ones that are newer. About $1 billion in state money is available to defray costs, and those who act ahead of deadlines are entitled to larger payouts.
Some truckers broke ranks with the trucking industry and urged the air board to impose the new restrictions.
Wayne McCully, 64 years old, who has hauled heavy loads for four decades, signed a petition favoring action. He says he believes research showing that microscopic particles in soot contribute to cancer, heart attacks and lung disease. "I'm no tree hugger, but I am concerned about the environment," Mr. McCully said.
He intends to buy an aerodynamic Kenworth truck for $114,000 -- less than he would have expected to pay if the economy wasn't in recession. Its fuel economy is rated at seven to nine miles per gallon, a 25% to 30% improvement over what he's getting with his 10-year-old rig.
Write to Rebecca Smith at rebecca.smith@wsj.com