The regulations are intended to reduce smog and to decrease the amount of cancer-causing soot emitted by burning diesel fuel. Trucks and buses with engines from model years 1996-1999 are currently affected. Most are required to install new filters. But Bruce Tuter with the Air Resources Board says some owners - for example those with small fleets - may qualify for an extension:
Tuter:"The economy's tough right now and these filters are not inexpensive - $10,000 to $20,000 dollars in many cases, so a small owner, at least he buys himself a couple of years to decide to maybe get a new truck, or, you know, a couple of more years to get ready to put a filter on."
Tuter says for truck owners to qualify, they must report to
the Air Resources Board by the end of this week. The
regulations will be phased in through 2023. Tuter says an
estimated 200,000 fleets will be affected by
them.