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newsrel -- ARB cites Cotati based trucking firm $8,500 for diesel emission violations

Posted: 02 Apr 2009 13:48:33
Diesel exhaust creates 70 percent of the airborne carcinogens in
California's air. 

Release 09-31
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2009
	  	  	
Karen Caesar
(626)575-6728
www.arb.ca.gov

ARB cites Cotati based trucking firm $8,500 for diesel emission
violations

SACRAMENTO - The California Air Resources Board has fined
Minatta Transportation of Cotati, Calif. $8,500 this month for
diesel truck emission violations that occurred in 2007.

An ARB fleet audit found that the company had not been annually
inspecting its heavy-duty diesel vehicles, as required by
California law. Not performing the required smoke inspections can
lead to increased cancer-causing diesel emissions.

"California clean-air laws are written to protect our most
vulnerable populations, including children and the elderly," said
ARB Chairman Mary Nichols.

As part of the settlement, Minatta must:

    * Guarantee employees who are responsible for inspecting the
vehicles attend a mandatory California community college training
class on diesel emissions and provide certificates of completion
within one year;
    * Instruct employees and drivers on ARB's truck idling
regulations;
    * Ensure that trucks have the most recent low-NOx software
installed;
    * Provide documentation to ARB that the inspections are
being carried out for the next three years; and,
    * Ensure that all diesel trucks are up to federal emissions
standards for the vehicle model year and are properly labeled
with the manufacturer's factory engine certification label. 

The company will pay $8,500 in penalties: $6,375 will go to the
California Air Pollution Control Fund, which provides funding for
projects and research to improve California's air quality, $1,062
will go to Peralta Community College District to fund emission
education classes conducted by participating California community
colleges under the California Council for Diesel Education and
Technology, and the remaining $1,062 will go to the California
Pollution Control Financing Authority.

A decade ago, the ARB listed diesel particulate matter as a
toxic air contaminant in order to protect public health. Exposure
to unsafe levels of diesel emissions can increase the risk of
asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory diseases. California
has aggressively worked to cut diesel emissions by cleaning up
diesel fuel, requiring cleaner engines for trucks, buses and
off-road equipment, and limiting unnecessary idling.

The Air Resources Board is a department of the California
Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and
protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through
effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and
considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air
pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain
health based air quality standards.

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