The California Air Resources Board will vote next week on whether to approve new idling restrictions for diesel-powered vehicles operated in the state, Jerry Martin, a spokesman for the agency, told Land Line.

The proposed rules would limit trucks five minutes of idling. However, there are a number of exceptions.

Trucks with sleepers and truckers who are resting under FMCSA hours-of-service requirements will be allowed to idle. And trucks operating auxiliary equipment, such as refrigerated units, will also be allowed to idle to power that equipment.

The idling rules will affect both trucks based in California and those based in other states that pick up or drop loads there. It will also affect Mexican trucks entering the state under the North American Free Trade Agreement, Martin said.

“It will any affect any truck operating in California,” he said. “They will all be subject to the rules. Trucks entering from other countries will have to adhere to the same rules as trucks entering from other states.”

Even though some trucks are allowed to idle now, by 2009, the Air Resources Board will require all trucks – including those with sleepers or where drivers are resting as required by law – to cease idling.

The board will consider the idling rules at its regular meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. PDT Thursday, July 22, at the Central Valley Auditorium of the California Environmental Protection Agency offices, 1001 I St., Sacramento, CA.

A statement from the board indicated the meeting may spill over to the next day. If it does, the Air Resources Board will convene at 8:30 a.m. Friday, July 23.

The new rules are just part of a series of efforts by California officials to crack down on diesel emissions.

In March, the board adopted a voluntary plan to upgrade computer chips on older diesel trucks to cut back on their emissions. Under the agreement with engine manufacturers, truck owners can take their rigs into dealerships, who can perform the half-hour to hourlong installation of new software. The engine manufacturers have agreed to pay for the software and its installation, the board said.

In addition, a member of the state’s Assembly is promoting a bill that would compel Mexican trucks entering the state to meet the same federal emissions requirements U.S. trucks are required to. The bill, AB1009, was introduced by Assemblywoman Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), who is known for her work on environmental issues.

- by Mark H. Reddig, associate editor

Mark Reddig can be reached at mark_reddig@landlinemag.com.