Truckers protest clear air regulations

Truckers protest clear air regulations    Port truckers in California are protesting a clean air regulation due to go into effect Jan. 1.
   Press reports say there have been demonstrations by truckers in both Oakland and Los Angeles-Long Beach in recent days over new emissions standards that would prevent their trucks from operating at the ports after Jan. 1.
   KTVU.com and Bay City News reported about 150 truckers demonstrated in front of Oakland City Hall Tuesday after marching from the Port of Oakland to protest new emissions standards for trucks.
   The Los Angeles City Examiner said about 80 trucks drove from the Port of Long Beach and surrounded Los Angeles City Hall honking their horns in a similar protest.
   Land Line, the official publication of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, said independent truckers at the Port of Long Beach were planning a protest caravan Wednesday.
   The trucks are protesting a rule by the California Air Resources Board that would prohibit trucks with 1993 or older engines from entering ports and intermodal rail yards beginning on Jan. 1 and require trucks with model year 1994-2003 engines be equipped with diesel particulate filters.
   Last week the CARB directed its staff to return next April with a new provision that would provide truck fleets more flexibility in cleaning up their diesel emissions under the state’s truck and bus rule because of the recession’s effect on the industry. That rule, which is broader than the port truck ban, requires truck owners to install diesel exhaust filters on their rigs by Jan. 1, 2011, with nearly all vehicles upgraded by 2014.