TodayAnti-idling bill passes the Senate
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Article RatingLawmakers say central Pennsylvania’s air quality will improve if anti-idling legislation passed in the state Senate Wednesday is signed into law.
The bill, which was amended to include parts a similar bill drafted by Sen. Patricia Vance, R-31, would prohibit commercial vehicles from idling for more than five minutes in any hour. It heads to the state House for a vote.
Vance cited a recent ranking by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation that puts the Harrisburg area as the 14th most challenging place to live, with asthma as “another example that action needs to be taken immediately to reduce diesel emissions. The health of residents is being compromised along with that of commercial drivers.”
Based in the Carlisle area, the Clean Air Board helped Vance with her legislation. The CAB was formed in the fall of 2005 after more than 100 Cumberland County physicians signed an open letter warnin the community of the dangers.
Jennifer McKenna, president of the CAB, has said that as many as 3,000 tractor-trailers idle in or near Carlisle every day, polluting the air.
The legislation passed by the Senate permits idling under certain, brief conditions.
The legislation also contains intermediate exemptions allowing idling in extreme temperatures. The idling restrictions would not apply at trucking terminals or truck stops if the outside temperature is below 40 degrees or above 75 degrees and idle reduction technology is unavailable.
This exemption would expire on May 1, 2010, when it is expected that idle reduction technology will be more widely deployed.
Idling restrictions would not apply to model year 2007 or newer diesel-powered commercial vehicles with a California Air Resource Board label showing the engine meets the optional NOx idling emissions standards.
Violation would result in a $50 fine for the first offense and up to a $150 fine for subsequent offenses.
