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To: current trend who wrote (3071)	3/30/1999 3:06:00 PM
From: current trend	Respond to of 3458

In Todays Washington Post: Glendening Backs Bill on Testing Emissions of Diesel Trucks, Buses By Scott Wilson Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, March 30, 1999; Page B02 Maryland would begin testing exhaust-pipe emissions from diesel trucks and buses next year under legislation endorsed yesterday by Gov. Parris N. Glendening as an important step toward improving state air quality. Maryland drivers have had to submit to emissions tests for the last 15 years as part of the car registration process. But those tests have not applied to the large trucks and buses that are among the biggest polluters on the road, a double standard that has exasperated many local drivers -- including the governor. During a morning news conference, Glendening (D) promised to sign legislation this year that would make Maryland the first state in the mid-Atlantic region to fine the operators of diesel trucks and buses that pump thick, black smoke from exhaust pipes. The bill, pushed hardest by state Sen. Jennie M. Forehand (D-Montgomery), passed the General Assembly after being held up for 11 years by the trucking industry lobby. But the measure now has the support of the Maryland Motor Truck Association largely because it would not impose a testing program on all diesel trucks, only those that appear to be breaking state air quality standards. The program also would apply to out-of-state trucks as well as those registered in Maryland, closing a loophole that held up the motor truck association's support of the measure. "For years, people have asked, 'Why do I have to keep my car clean when I have to sit behind a truck or bus and see clear evidence of air pollution?' " said Glendening, who told the assembled crowd that his wife often experienced migraine headaches after breathing diesel fumes at a stoplight. "No one should be forced to endure the headaches and other ailments that come from breathing these emissions." Maryland would join a handful of states that test diesel emissions, including Maine, New York, Connecticut and New Jersey on the East Coast. Glendening has included $750,000 in his budget this year to create five teams of state police and Maryland Transportation Authority officials to perform random roadside tests beginning July 1, 2000. Under the law, state police and Transportation Authority officers could test diesel trucks at weigh stations or along highways after pulling them over. A monitor is inserted into the exhaust pipe to determine whether it is spewing excessive pollution. Only trucks and buses that weigh more than 10,000 pounds would be subject to the testing. Diesel-powered cars would not undergo the new tests; they are exempt from the existing testing program as well. Maryland-registered trucks that fail would receive a repair order that must be completed within 30 days. If the work is not done, state police could issue a $1,000 fine and revoke the truck's registration. Out-of-state trucks would be subject to the same fines, but Maryland officials cannot revoke their registration. Instead, those that fail to carry out required repairs would be reported to federal highway safety regulators. "For years, we have felt that maybe we were protecting trucks that shouldn't be protected," said Walter C. Thompson, president of the 1,100-member Maryland Motor Truck Association. "You don't have to be a brain surgeon to see which trucks are not in compliance." messages.yahoo.com@m2.yahoo.com (The above is intended for private use only and cannot be construed as commerical use.) CT