Panel smokes diesel emission tests

CARSON CITY -- Legislation that would have required all diesel-powered trucks and construction equipment in Clark County to undergo extensive emission tests was gutted in the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Monday.

The bill, a shadow of its former self, now calls for forming a committee to study the issue of air pollution in Southern Nevada. The committee would consist of representatives of local and state government as well as industry.

Lobbyists for and against the original bill returned with the compromise after the Senate committee kicked it back to them to work out.

"We had major problems with the original bill because it gave far too much power to Clark County," said Peter Krueger, a lobbyist for the Nevada Petroleum Marketers Association. "It would have left it up to the county to establish emission standards for construction equipment. The Environmental Protection Agency hasn't even been able to do that. We doubt very much whether Clark County has the expertise to get the job done."

The revised bill allocates $400,000 to the committee to study the issue and $100,000 to the Department of Motor Vehicles to increase its enforcement efforts against heavily polluting trucks.

"I'm sure there is some technical definition for heavily polluting trucks," said Betsy Fretwell, a lobbyist for the Southern Nevada Strategic Planning Authority. "But I'd say it's those trucks you see driving down the road belching black smoke. Those trucks can be cited right now."

Sen. Jon Porter, R-Boulder City, said he believes the revision improves the bill, which he sponsored.

"The bill now provides funding for an existing program that needs more money, it provides time and money for an in-depth study of the problem and better yet it brings people from government and private industry together to talk," Porter said.

But Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, a member of the Natural Resources Committee, said he cannot support the legislation because it has been "gutted."

The Strategic Planning Authority, which is composed of representatives of local governments, business, labor and other interests, was formed during the last legislative session to provide advice on how to deal with the effects of growth in Southern Nevada. This is one of the legislative proposals developed by the group.

Porter is sponsoring the bills recommended by the authority, including Senate Bill 432, which addresses the diesel emissions issue.

A 1996 Clark County study found that while diesel vehicles account for only 2 percent of the vehicles in Clark County, diesel engines account for 50 percent of the engine-generated particulate matter pollution in the area.

Fretwell agreed with Coffin's assessment that the bill had been gutted, but she added it is still a step forward because it continues to address the issue.

"The original bill would have put Clark County truckers at a disadvantage," Krueger said.

"Trucks in neighboring states and even neighboring counties wouldn't have had to undergo these emissions tests. That's who Clark County truckers are competing against," he said.

Krueger has said his association is not opposed to the concept of having diesel construction equipment being tested for emission quality if a fair standard can be established.

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