Posted on 12/31/2009 9:08:05 AM PST by NormsRevenge
State air regulators found an extra $3 million Wednesday to help more Port of Oakland truckers buy new diesel filters for their rigs, but that did not stop more than 450 independent drivers from filing a lawsuit to block a state-mandated emissions deadline that will put them out of work on New Year's Day.
Approximately 1,200 mostly independent drivers who haul cargo in and out of the port will not be able to enter the gates starting Friday. They applied for grant funds to install new diesel filters on their rigs but were rejected because a $22 million pot to help them ran out.
The new port truck rule passed by the California Air Resources Board in December 2007 set a Jan. 1, 2010, deadline for all large diesel trucks serving California's ports and intermodal rail yards to reduce diesel emissions. The rule bans trucks manufactured before 1994 and requires new soot filters on others .. . The tiny particles can lodge in the lungs and cause asthma, cancer and other health problems.
The $22 million covered 1,000 grant applications — fewer than half of those who applied. About 200 drivers got $50,000 grants toward the purchase of a new truck. The rest got grants to buy new diesel filters that cost up to $21,000 each.
...
"All these guys are living paycheck to paycheck already," said Dominick Lee, vice president of VA Transportation in West Oakland. "Once you cut off their paycheck they'll have no means to make their trucks compliant."
Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums' staff has been working with state and federal officials to try and secure additional funding for the retrofits since the truckers held a rally outside City Hall this month to publicize their plight. ..
(Excerpt) Read more at insidebayarea.com ...
Why doesn’t California just get it over with and ban all businesses from operating in the state.
perhaps they should call Acorn and ask for help. Or is Acorn help limited to pimps and hookers.
They want my money to pay for their dumbass laws.
These idiots in the state could shut down the trucking industry in the state. When that happens, no food or anything else. Rather than work with the truckers, they want to dictate what they can and can’t do. Think about it, what could you buy if the trucks shut down. I think you will come up with the same answer I did. “NOTHING”
AB 32
Just one of many ‘successes’ aRnold was crowing about in Copenhagen recently, I reckun.
A partying gadfly named mayor Dellums was last reported searching Paris, FRance back streets for more money (it’s for the truckers, yaknow) .. or was he shopping for more Monet?
Defund any and all Leftist initiated programs. Watch not only California stabilize, but the whole of America as well.
I believe they are already doing it, that’s why Governor Shriver pushed his Global Warming Solutions Act. Which will in effect BAN ALL ENERGY USE. What they need to do is show up in Horse and Wagon to haul the freight.
http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2009/Dec09/113009/120309-02.htm
“Research fraud spurs CARB member to call for truck rule suspension”
The idiots use false data to set impossibly high standards and then run to the federal government to raid taxpayer wallets to pay for their stupidity.
Did you see the yrc article?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703483604574629961893180696.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Another governemnt run program running smoothly /s
Landscape shifting policy decisions like this ought to be required to be based upon open source science. I don’t know if this fellow padding his resume also means he pulled the math out of his rear end (it sounds like it would not need a doctorate), but following onto Climategate it sure don’t sound good. Take care of the earth, ok, but no more voodoo and priestcraft, please!
This is what they mean by green jobs.
Sudden unemployment for a lot of people
It all comes down to the problem of California setting impossible standards for themselves that the rest of the country must pay for. God knows we have our local problems in Michigan but we’ve taken repeated hits from California automotive dictates.
The California Air Resources Board doing what it can to destroy California. Just plain stupidity.
California is in a difficult geographic situation. It has valleys that trap local air emissions in places that are both bustling shipping/travel corridors and heavily populated business/residential areas.
I was in L.A. during the early 80’s and it was bad, like “no ventilation outdoors” bad. Locals told me it was like that during much of the year.
Maybe for the longer term they can arrange some kind of rail transport between the ports and areas that are less prone to trap air pollution that can serve as truck depots.
In the meantime, regulations to mitigate the situation should have at least a tenuous connection to truth and facts.
California’s failure to plan should not be my emergency.
I can’t help but wonder how much money they could save by shutting down the California Air Resources Board and making all regulations that oozed out of this den of commerce killing nitwits null and void.
I call BS right here! I suggest the truckers find out which politicians and government flunkies are getting kickbacks from this ridiculous boondoggle. These things probably cost a couple hundred bucks to make tops and the rest is all payola.
They are. They're just doing it on the installment plan.
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