Following a scandal around falsified credentials and board member cover-ups, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has ordered a repeat of the report that attributed 3,500 premature deaths to diesel pollution. The report played a role in the board’s justification of stringent and costly regulations for diesel engines.
Questions of legitimacy about the original report, and perhaps CARB itself, were raised when a board member discovered the lead author’s credentials were fraudulent. More doubt stained the issue when it was discovered key members of the board, including chairman Mary Nichols, were aware of the falsification before the vote which enacted strict diesel emissions laws.
Critics of the regulations, which begin to be phased in Jan. 1, have asked the enactment be delayed, citing cost burdens of replacing older engines or installing new technology on more recently-made engines. The restrictions will grow tighter through 2022. Truck owners fear going under from the added burden during the poor economy. Compliance is projected to cost the trucking industry $5.5 billion, according to regulators, and affects out-of-state trucks as well.
CARB ordered a new report Wednesday during a hearing on the regulations, but came short of suspending the new rules. Nichols apologized for keeping the false qualifications a secret from the public, but said the report was still valid.
The board may amend the regulations to correlate with economic recovery factors. Changes, such as credit for meeting deadlines on-or-ahead of time and delayed compliance reporting requirements, may be approved during CARB’s April meeting.
Source: The San Francisco Chronicle: State orders new diesel pollution report. Wyatt Buchanan.
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