Mexican truck traffic will be bringing pollution (and who knows what else?) and WE have to impose more strident emission controls on ourselves? Shouldn’t Mexican POS trucks be required to meet the standards in this country?
This is just plainly WRONG!
From the Daily Breeze/Copley News:
Ruling on Mexican trucks will bring the state a load of smog
California air-quality regulators say trucks from south of the border tend to pollute more. The border will open to them soon under NAFTA guidelines.
SACRAMENTO — An anticipated surge in long-haul truck traffic from Mexico will deliver more than loads of produce, electronics and clothing to Southern California.
It will also bring a lot of smog.
California’s air-quality regulators say the imminent opening of the state’s freeways and ports to older, diesel-fueled Mexican trucks could produce a dramatic increase in toxic pollutants, a new source of smog equal to another 2.2 million cars on the road.
“This would have a serious impact on the region’s health and particularly on the health of those community members living adjacent to any heavily traveled routes,” warns a just-released state Air Resources Board report.
“Additionally, the supplemental emissions generated by the increased truck traffic could impede California’s progress toward attaining the federal air quality standards, which could potentially jeopardize billions of dollars in federal transportation funding,” the report says.
As a result, state and Los Angeles officials say they may have to impose more stringent local standards to offset the added pollution from Mexican trucks. [emphasis added]
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