Environmental protection regulators Thursday announced settlements with three trucking companies totaling $201,000 in penalties for violating a state regulation involving air quality in the Los Angeles Basin.
The companies — C.R. England, Knight Transportation and Werner Enterprises — either failed to install particulate filters on their own heavy- duty diesel trucks or failed to verify that trucks they hired for use in California complied with the state’s Truck and Bus Regulation, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“Diesel trucks are heavily used in the San Joaquin Valley and Los Angeles Basin, which suffer from some of the worst air quality in the nation,” said Alexis Strauss, EPA’s acting regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “EPA is committed to helping California achieve cleaner, healthier air by ensuring compliance with the state’s pollution rules.”
Diesel emissions from trucks are one of the state’s largest sources of fine particle pollution, or soot, which has been linked to a variety of health issues, including asthma, impaired lung development in children and cardiovascular effects in adults.
About 625,000 trucks are registered outside of the state, but operate in California and are subject to the rule. Many of these vehicles are older models and emit high amounts of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides.
The rule, which requires diesel trucks and buses that operate in California to be upgraded to reduce diesel emissions, is an essential part of the state’s plan to attain cleaner air.
“These cases are examples of how California and the EPA can work together to protect Californians’ health by strongly enforcing the regulation to clean up our trucks and buses,” said Todd Sax, chief of the California Air Resources Board’s enforcement division. “When trucking companies operate in California, compliance with state laws is essential.”
According to EPA, C.R. England operated 34 heavy-duty diesel trucks in California from 2013 to 2014 without the required diesel particulate filters. The company, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is required to pay a $64,000 penalty and is currently in compliance.
Knight Transportation failed to verify that the carriers it hired to transport goods in California from 2012 to 2014 complied with the Truck and Bus rule. Knight, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is required to pay a $72,000 penalty; the company agreed to register all of its hired contractors on the state database and to provide verification of state compliance, regulators said.
Werner Enterprises operated five heavy-duty diesel trucks in California from 2012 to 2014 without the required diesel particulate filters. Werner also failed to verify that the carriers it hired to transport goods in California complied with the Truck and Bus rule. The Omaha, Nebraska, company is required to pay a $65,000 penalty, EPA said.