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I am a small General Engineering Contractor whose work consists
mainly of rural road maintenance, logging remediation, and stream
restoration.  You know-improving the environment.

I have four or five pieces of equipment that would fall under the
proposed regulations; however I'm the sole operator, and only one
piece is running at any given time.

I'm 58 years old.  It took the first 35 years of my life to reach
a point where I had the capitol and collateral to buy my first
piece of used equipment.  I sat in that seat for twelve years
before I had enough to finance my next piece of equipment, and so
on.  Not infrequently, I have to borrow money in the winter months
to survive, then spend a good part of the summer working to pay it
off.

If you pass the proposed regulations, there is no way I could
rebuild my 'fleet' to meet your criteria. I have neither the money
or the time left to do so.  You will be forcing me to retire at 63
years of age with absolutely no income outside of social security,
which will cover about half my house payment.

It would seem to me that the reasonable approach to this issue
would be to mandate that any new equipment sold or any used
equipment brought into the state meet your proposed criteria after
a certain date.  Then let the existing equipment (and operators)
die a natural death.  

Like many an idealistic and noble cause for the betterment of
society as a whole, no thought is being given to the negative and
disastrous consequences of these regulations to the individual,
which by coincidence, is what society consists of.

With the arrogance and self-righteousness that would do justice to
a missionary, you folks would bring us heathen savages into the
light and save our eternal souls, without concern for the personal
tragedies you would inflict on us.  For a minuscule gain, you would
destroy thousands of lives and businesses.  I request that you
don't.

                                      Bob Goldthwaite