California backs off strict diesel rules

(12-18) 04:00 PST Sacramento - --

California's air regulators significantly scaled back the nation's toughest diesel pollution rules Friday, giving owners of trucks and other diesel-powered machines more time and more options to reduce their emissions.

The changes, which were prompted by the economic downturn that has idled many trucks and construction machines, also came after the California Air Resources Board acknowledged that some of the original rules had been based on a major miscalculation of how much pollution the engines produce.

At the all-day meeting of the board, equipment owners pleaded for relief, with some calling for the regulations to be suspended altogether.

Several environmental and health organizations, however, questioned whether easing the regulations would harm air quality and public health. Students from schools in Oakland and Richmond implored the air board to keep the rules, saying their friends and family members have asthma and other diseases related to diesel pollution.

The board voted 10-0 in favor of the changes.

"This is the culmination of a couple of years worth of work on adapting our diesel regulations, which are very aggressive, ... to the realities of the current economic situation," said board Chairwoman Mary Nichols, who noted that the construction industry has borne a significant share of the losses in the economy.

Mike Kennedy, general counsel for Associated General Contractors of America, which worked closely with the air board on the changes, called them "something that is often discussed but rarely achieved and that's ... a win-win."

The Air Resources Board considered changes to five different diesel regulations, which cover big rigs and buses, off-road machines and vehicles used largely in construction, drayage trucks and other machines. The regulations originally were approved between 2006 and 2008.

Economy affects pollution

The amendments to most of the regulations, such as the on-road rules, stem from reductions in truck use because of the weakened economy, which has meant a corresponding drop in air pollution. However, the changes for off-road equipment were largely because of an overestimation by air board scientists of pollution emitted from the engines.

The estimate of nitrous oxide emissions was overstated by 340 percent, a miscalculation The Chronicle first reported in October.

To fix that, the Air Resources Board voted to delay the requirements for all fleets of equipment for four years, removing a requirement to retrofit machines, giving extra credits for engines that have done early retrofits and expanding the number of vehicles with "low-use" engines.

For on-road big-rig trucks, the board voted to delay when trucks need to install filters for particulate matter, to delay when some trucks have to be replaced by as many as eight years and exempted smaller vehicles from some requirements.

Companies affected by the rules will save $4.8 billion, according to air board staff.

Praise and objections

Many of the owners and operators of diesel engines vehicles praised the board for the amendments to the regulations, though they said they still objected to them overall.

Susan Jones, owner and operator of D&S; Trucking, a small Castro Valley dump truck company, said her business is down 88 percent and asked the board for more time to comply with the rules.

"I really, really believe you guys have to give us mom-and-pop operations, us low-mileage guys, more time. Just to make our house payments, please give us time," she said.

Changing the regulations will have myriad impacts, including for companies that make emission filters. Some vehicles now are exempt from having to purchase those, and manufacturers of the filters warned that the change could put different people out of work. Others who had made changes in their equipment raised concerns that they were at a disadvantage for spending money to make changes while some of their competitors did not.

The board gave some additional credits, such as extending the time companies have to comply with the rules, to those who have already taken steps to meet the regulations.

Serious concerns

A coalition of environmental and public health groups submitted a letter saying they had "serious concern" about the changes.

"The rule changes as proposed go beyond what is necessary in the short term and reduce near-term health benefits," the groups wrote. They also noted that low-income people of color are the most likely to live along truck routes and near freeways where pollution from diesel engines is highest.

Several lawmakers, including the leader of the Latino legislative caucus, wrote to the board with similar concerns.

Nichols said any reductions in pollution would then most benefit the people living in those areas.

Although some of the changes were made because of the scientific inaccuracy of earlier proposals, board members did not address that in their comments.

The air board has been in a difficult period, not only because of that miscalculation, but also because an air board staffer who wrote a study on premature deaths caused by diesel pollution was found to have faked his scientific credentials.

Tony Luiz, owner of T&L; Trucking near Watsonville, expressed anger about those problems, saying it amounted to corruption.

"This board has cost billions of dollars to companies that have already retrofitted and updated, for garbage information" that the board used to make earlier decisions, he said.

E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle