N.M. Environment Department proposes limit to truck idling

The Associated Press

1/7/2008

SANTA FE, N.M. — The N.M. Environment Department is considering limiting the amount of time long-haul truckers can leave their vehicles idling at truck stops.

The department plans four hearings around the state this month about the proposed rule. The proposal is a result of Gov. Bill Richardson's executive order to reduce the state's greenhouse-gas emissions to 75 percent below 2000 levels by 2050.

The new regulation would apply only to commercial trucks weighing at least 16,001 pounds. No time limit on idling has been proposed.

Drivers power the heat and air conditioning in their truck sleeping berths by letting the engine run while they rest. Those idling engines — even in cleaner new models — produce thousands of tons of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and other pollutants, according to the Environment Department.

But the New Mexico Trucking Association says the new regulation could hurt truckers and consumers.

"With all the things the government comes up with to make our lives better, they don't really do the background research," said Vic Sheppard, executive director of the New Mexico Trucking Association. "They come up with mandates that are impossible to live with."

Eighteen states already have anti-idling rules.

Several alternatives to idling include placing small diesel-powered generators in cabs to provide auxiliary power or having truck stops provide electric outlets or individual heating and air-conditioning systems.

Sheppard says the generators are expensive, and the $7,000 price tag would be passed on to truckers or their customers.

The state has scheduled hearings on the proposal for Wednesday in Santa Fe, Jan. 16 in Las Cruces, Jan. 23 in Gallup and Jan. 30 in Santa Rosa.