13 States Review Emission Rules

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” Thirteen states are ready to require that diesel trucks and buses meet far tougher anti-pollution standards than are imposed by the federal government. <br><br>The states are preparing

Monday, November 20th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” Thirteen states are ready to require that diesel trucks and buses meet far tougher anti-pollution standards than are imposed by the federal government.

The states are preparing to adopt clean-air rules being developed by California, which, because it has the nation's worst air pollution, is allowed under the federal Clean Air Act to draft its own emission rules.

The 13 states are aiming to sharply reduce the amount of sooty exhaust allowable starting in 2004, even as makers of big diesel engines that power buses and heavy trucks petition the federal government to relax existing rules.

Two organizations â€” the State and Territorial Air Pollution Control Administrators and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials â€” were announcing the state actions Monday.

Joining in support of the tougher California standards are New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Delaware, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Nevada.

The Environmental Protection Agency is writing new exhaust rules for diesels but they are unlikely to take effect before 2007. Robert W. Perciasepea, who heads EPA's air-pollution effort, told The New York Times the agency supports the 13 states' action as a backstop to the federal program.