I-5 Truck Idle Reduction Initiative
Press: California
Los Angeles Times – Burbank Leader
Saturday, October 2, 2004
Plugged in to Air Pollution
After spending some time studying the air quality around
Horace Mann Elementary School in Glendale, Jerome Rizalado,
10, hopes that the adults around him will develop the same
convictions he has about pollution. After learning about
deforestation and the shrinking of animal habitats, Jerome has
adopted a new philosophy. "Now
I pick up trash. Before, when I was in a hurry, I sometimes
threw it on the floor, but now I pick it up," Jerome declared
Thursday. "I want to conserve. I want to be a good man—or,
a good boy." Jerome was one of dozens of Mann Elementary
School fourth- and fifth-grade students present when Supervisor
Michael D. Antonovich, along with representatives from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the South Coast
Air Quality Management District, announced the launch of a new
project aimed at reducing pollution along the Golden State (5)
Freeway emitted by idling big-rig trucks.
The Monterey (CA) Herald Thursday, September 30, 2004 News Briefs
Air quality officials are spending $200,000 for 20 electrical
hookups at Southern California truck stops so truckers won't
have to idle pollution-spewing diesel big-rigs during breaks.
It's part of a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program
designed to get West Coast industries to cut unhealthy diesel
pollution. The EPA and South Coast Air Quality Management
District are sharing the cost of the plug-ins. "We have a tremendous
amount of diesel traffic and a tremendous amount of older equipment.
The goal is to replace older engines with newer engines," regional
EPA administrator Wayne Nastri said.
South Coast Air Quality Management District Thursday, September 30, 2004
Press Release: AQMD, EPA Announce Project to Cut Truck Idling, Emissions
Southland and federal air quality officials today announced
the region’s first project to reduce toxic diesel emissions
from idling big-rig trucks by providing “plug-in” power
at a truck stop along Interstate 5. “Long-haul truckers
often idle their rigs for up to eight hours at a time to power
their cabs while they rest -- wasting fuel and producing unnecessary
toxic diesel emissions,” said Michael D. Antonovich, a
Los Angeles County Supervisor and member of the South Coast
Air Quality Management District Governing Board.
|