By Clint Olivier and Winston Whitehurst
Citing the air pollution generated by thousands of trucks on its roads, the State of California has adopted the toughest diesel emission standards in the nation.
"What it will do in our situation is, we have to have every one of our trucks replaced, or else go out of business," Mike Kubar said.
TKJ Trucking's Kubar says about ten valley families depend on their jobs there for survival, he says that could now be in doubt.
Friday eight appointed members of the air board voted to adopt the so called 'Truck Rule', which mandates that nearly a million diesel trucks and busses be equipped with a smog filtering device or replaced outright.
"Our job is to find solutions to this problem to clean up the air," ARB Chairwoman Mary Nichols said.
Nichols says the new standards are desperately needed, and will improve the health of Californians, saving nine thousand lives over the next ten years.
Her agency estimates the cost to business could be more than 5 billion dollars.
"It addresses what we know as big rigs, the heavy duty diesel trucks that produce about a third of California's smog causing emissions, and about 40 percent of the cancer-causing diesel soot," she said.
Tim Fortier of West Fresno's CTI Trucking says his company will have to replace 10-15 percent of his trucks, and that CTI is in better shape than smaller truckers like Mike Kubar's.
"We will survive," he said.
"What about Mike's?"
"There are many carriers such as the previous carrier that are really on the ropes," Tim Fortier said.
State officials say they have loan programs available to help companies replace their trucks, but Mike Kubar says it's a racket.
He says the state program offers about 50 thousand dollars for trucks that cost upwards of 125k.
And that means a trip to the bank for a huge loan.
"Once you're in debt, once you sign that piece of paper, and if I don't have business, then we are deep trouble, he said.
The new regulations start going into effect in 2010 and will phase in over a period of 13 years.
The sweeping new law also applies to trucks registered in other states that drive into California.
