08.20.2009
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| Oakland truckers face lengthy process to qualify for retrofit grants
Quote: Mamdoh Ibrahim applied in early June for grant money to install diesel filters on two trucks he owns and uses to haul cargo from the Port of Oakland. After more than two months, he's still waiting.
Starting Jan. 1, all diesel trucks hauling cargo from the port — at least 2,000 of them, based on conservative estimates — must comply with state air regulations concerning diesel emissions or get locked out at the gate.
Trucks manufactured from 1994 to 2003 will need new filters. Older trucks will be banned. Newer trucks have a few more years to comply.
There's a $22 million pot available to help truckers buy the new diesel filters, which have been shown to reduce by 85 percent the deadly particulate emissions that can cause cancer and other serious health problems.
The filters vary in price, but a typical unit for a long-haul truck can run $14,000 to $16,000, including installation. But the sales tax and annual maintenance cost are the truck owner's responsibility. Part of the fund will be used to award $50,000 grants to help some drivers buy new trucks.
But the process is long and arduous, often taking nearly three months or more from start to finish. Time is running out, and the truckers are getting nervous.
"I'm still two steps away from accomplishing this mission, and I'm really starting to get nervous now," said Ibrahim, 37, of Alameda, during one of his many visits to the OT411 Trucker Information Center on Burma | http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland...ws/ci_13171133  |
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