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Additional funding will reduce toxic diesel emissions in and
around port. NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 30, 2009	
				                     CONTACT:Leo Kay, ARB    			            
(916)849-9843	
Lisa Fasano, BAAQMD
(415)710-3505								
Bay Area Air District, State announce additional 
$3 million to clean up Oakland port trucks

SACRAMENTO:  The California Air Resources Board and the Bay Area
Air Quality Management District today freed up an additional $3
million in grants for truckers and small businesses to comply
with the state’s Jan. 1 deadline for the state’s port truck rule
that will reduce toxic diesel emissions in and around port
communities. 

Truckers who made timely application for retrofit funding to the
Bay Area Air Quality Management District but were denied when the
money ran out, and who will be unable to enter the port when the
new rule goes into effect, may be eligible for the grants.  Those
who meet all of the Proposition 1B eligibility criteria will
receive an extension (expected in February) to operate their
trucks at ports and rail yards until April 30. 

“While the new emissions regulations for Port trucks embraces
Oakland’s goals of reducing environmental impacts, my office has
been working collaboratively to provide the much-needed support
for the truckers trying to comply with such regulations,” said
Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums. “This announcement is a significant
step in the right direction. As our region continues to find
solutions amidst a severe national recession, I am deeply
appreciative of the state’s and local air district’s continued
efforts to partner with our city. Going forward, we are committed
to working with our esteemed colleagues at the state and local
level, and will continue to advocate on behalf of our truckers
and the Port of Oakland with our partners in Washington D.C. to
try to identify additional funding to meet our goals."

“The Bay Area Air District has been working tirelessly to get
all available grant funding into the hands of truckers to clean
up these trucks,” said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the
Bay Area Air District.  “Cleaner trucks are good for the health
of West Oakland residents and the truckers who service the
port.”

ARB will continue to work with the Bay Area District to allocate
the additional voter-approved Proposition 1B funding to eligible
truckers.  The new funding will provide $5,000 per truck toward
the cost of retrofitting the vehicle with a diesel soot filter,
with a goal of cleaning up an additional 580 trucks operating at
the Port of Oakland over the next four months.  The air
regulators will also continue to talk with particulate filter
retrofit manufacturers about offering truckers flexible payment
plans for the remaining costs of the devices that are not covered
by the grants.

"In response to the request for a last minute reprieve, ARB and
the District scoured all existing funds and were able to come up
with an additional increment to ease the cost of compliance with
this important public health rule," said ARB Chairman Mary D.
Nichols.  "This funding will help the hundreds of truckers in the
area who need a boost in cleaning up their trucks, create jobs in
the green collar work force and, most importantly, provide
crucial public health benefits."

Air quality officials laid out a five-step process for people
who were previously denied retrofit funding for trucks serving
the Port of Oakland:

•	Come to the Bay Area Air District’s trucker’s information
center office at 11 Burma Road in Oakland between 2:30 p.m. and 6
p.m. daily between Jan. 4 and Jan. 8; 
•	Express continued interest in receiving funding to Air
District staff, at the $5,000 level. This information will be
recorded and placed in the applicant’s file;
•	Be prepared to submit any additional required information to
the Air District (ownership records, device quotes, proof of
mileage, proof of port visits, etc.), before Jan. 22, if
required;
•	Be prepared for a truck pre-inspection to confirm eligibility;
and, 
•	Be prepared to quickly line up the additional funding or
financing to purchase a soot filter that complies with the port
truck rule and that works on your truck.

The average cost of a particulate matter filter is $16,000, with
the devices removing 85 percent of the diesel emissions from
older trucks.  With today’s announcement, state, local and
federal air agencies and ports now have provided $25 million in
funding to help clean up more than 1,500 trucks at the Port of
Oakland.  Overall, ARB, local air districts, ports and the U.S
EPA have contributed more than $188 million statewide to clean up
port trucks in advance of the Jan. 1 deadline, half of which came
from voter-approved Proposition 1B funds.

ARB passed the port truck rule in December 2007, which requires
truck owners operating in and out of ports and intermodal rail
yards to retrofit and replace their trucks over the next several
years. ARB estimates that the regulation will prevent 580
premature deaths over the next five years, with benefits being
the most dramatic in the communities where port trucks are
heavily concentrated.

ARB passed an additional rule last December that will clean up
the remaining truck fleet operating in California estimated at
one million vehicles.

The ARB listed diesel particulate matter as a toxic air
contaminant over a decade ago in order to protect public health.
Exposure to diesel soot emissions can increase the risk of lung
cancer, plus asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases. 
Through its diesel risk reduction strategy, ARB plans on reducing
toxic diesel emissions in the state 85 percent by the year 2020.

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.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is the regional
agency chartered with protecting air quality in the Bay Area.

The energy challenge facing California is real. Every
Californian needs to take immediate action to reduce energy
consumption. For a list of simple ways you can reduce demand and
cut your energy cost, see our web site at http://www.arb.ca.gov

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