California inflates diesel smog stats 340pc, then passes tough rules

CALIFORNIA authorities exaggerated diesel pollution levels by 340 per cent, allegedly due to miscalculation, and knowingly passed a tough clean-air rules based on false data, adding massively to costs of using diesel powered vehicles.

California Air Resources Board (CARB) chairwoman Mary Nichols admits she knew about the false data before the board voted on stringent new regulations and has apologised for "not sharing", reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

CARB has since delayed imposing draconian regulations while its scientists revise data and draft less stringent rules, which have already bolstered LA-Long Beach ports clean trucks scheme that will ban owner-operator truckers from the docks, giving control to large companies, a move winning won approval from environmentalists and the Teamsters union.

CARB pollution estimates were the foundation of in the creation of regulations that forces business to cut diesel emissions by replacing, or making costly upgrades, to heavy-duty, diesel-fuelled vehicles. The state agency now acknowledges the new estimates mean that emitters of the pollution need to make smaller and less expensive changes to their vehicles.

But California Trucking Association spokeswoman Julie Saul said the delay has led to much confusion over what regulations companies must face and when. The initial rules affecting trucks begin this year, and the more expensive regulations kick in over in coming years.

CARB said the overestimate was due to the board calculating emissions before the economy slumped, which reduced diesel use. But independent researchers say CARB's overestimates came from faulty method of calculation - not the downturn.

The overestimate comes after another CARB miscalculation on diesel-related deaths last year and prompted the suspension of draconian regulations. The correction ended in cutting estimates of premature deaths linked to diesel engine particulate matter to drop from 18,000 to 9,200.

"One of the hardest things about being on the board is separating fact from political fancy. I think politics have entered the picture too much," said Republican CARB board member Ron Roberts.

The scandal raises questions about the performance of the agency as it implements Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, one of America's most ambitious environmental policies to date, said the Chronicle.

The act aims to cut carbon emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020, and has come under fire as the state prepares to elect a new governor. Critics say the law is a job killer because of the expenses imposed on employers while backers say it will boost jobs in the emerging green sector.

Republican challenger in the election for governor, Meg Whitman, promises to suspend the Global Warming Solutions Act for at least a year, while Democrat Jerry Brown vows to implement it.

California voters will also vote November 2 on Proposition 23, a referendum on suspending the carbon law until the state's unemployment rate - 12.4 per cent - falls to 5.5 per cent for one year.

Asked why this occured, Ms Nichols, the CARB chairwoman, said: "I can't answer that for you."

But when asked if she had doubts about other scientific data upon which CARB regulations were bases, she said: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no and no!"
(Source:www.schednet.com)