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A surge in smog over the long haul

Report: Coming influx of Mexican trucks 'serious'
By Michael Gardner
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
March 15, 2006

SACRAMENTO – An anticipated surge in long-haul truck traffic from Mexico will deliver more than loads of produce, electronics and clothing to 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 of entry to older, diesel-fueled Mexican trucks could dramatically increase toxic pollutants, a new source of smog equal to 2.2 million additional 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 state Air Resources Board report released late Monday.

“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 San Diego officials say they may have to impose more stringent local standards to offset the added pollution from Mexican trucks.

Opening California's borders to more trucks from Mexico is part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, signed by former President Clinton a dozen years ago.

A series of legal challenges stalled the opening of California's border to long-distance foreign trucks after NAFTA became law. But in 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the last legal roadblock when it ruled that the federal government was not required to prepare complete environmental studies on impacts associated with foreign traffic.

The Bush administration is expected to erase the existing border-truck policy, which had limited most Mexican truckers to a 20-mile zone within California. The air board's report said an announcement repealing the limit is “imminent.”

Regulators estimate that daily truck crossings from Mexico will increase from 3,500 to 17,500, spewing another 50 tons of smog. A quarter of those trucks were on the road before 1980, and as many as nine of every 10 were built before 1993, according to the air board report.

California's major truck entry points are at Otay Mesa in San Diego and Calexico in Imperial County. About 3,000 trucks now cross at Otay Mesa, said Robert Reider, who monitors the issue for the San Diego County Pollution Control District.

One out of every 10 trucks rolling through San Diego County at any given time is registered in Mexico, he said.

The San Ysidro port of entry serves mostly passenger vehicles.

San Diego officials have long struggled to comply with federal standards for cleaner air. The region risks losing federal dollars as punishment for not improving air quality.

“If we want overall reductions, we have to get them from somewhere,” Reider said. “It would have to come from some other source. We need reductions, period.”

Kenn Morris, director of Crossborder Business Associates in San Diego, said the potential impact may be overstated because many trucks are now crossing and staying within the 20-mile limit.

“The fact that they go a few extra miles to Los Angeles shouldn't scare anyone,” Morris said, noting the positive economic effects on both sides of the border.

“While it may sound like a lot, there are a lot of emission sources around us that, on a daily basis or in a few days, create 50 tons of emissions,” he said.

The threat of more polluters on California roads comes at a time when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers are scrambling to place a massive bond package on the ballot that would set aside about $1 billion to help reduce pollution. Diesel truck emissions are a primary target.

The Mexican government is taking steps to encourage cleaner trucks, according to California officials.

Mexico has promised to require the use of cleaner-burning, low-sulfur diesel fuel starting in 2007 in the border regions and to extend the standard countrywide by 2009. The United States will implement a similar fuel standard this year.

In addition, Mexico's state-run oil monopoly Pemex will commit $2.5 billion over the next five years to upgrade its refineries to produce cleaner fuels, according to the air board report.

“They're sensitive to the environment, too,” Reider said of Mexican officials. “They're collaborating with us.”

California smog-fighters have taken some steps to combat truck emissions. Armed with legislation carried by then-state Sen. Steve Peace, D-Chula Vista, the air board in 1998 launched inspection stations near Otay Mesa and Calexico.

According to the air board report, “the test failure rate in the border region has consistently been higher than throughout the rest of the state, which lends credence to the generally held assumption that Mexican commercial vehicles are older and dirtier than those registered in California.”

Two years ago, Schwarzenegger signed legislation requiring Mexican trucks to meet federal clean-air standards before entering California. Trucks in the future also must use the cleaner diesel formulated to meet U.S. standards.

Other efforts are under way to reduce truck emissions.

In San Diego County, a $150,000 federal grant is helping finance advanced pollution control devices for Mexican trucks. The technology costs about $4,000 per truck.

Long-haul trucks also are more than likely to be newer and cleaner, minimizing impacts around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, some officials said.

The California Trucking Association was sharply critical of the state's efforts to curb pollution by Mexican trucks. Stephanie Williams, of the association, predicted the state will go after California trucks to make up for the elevated smog levels from Mexican trucks.