Diesel smog checks get mixed reaction

Monday, March 25, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Drivers who work for small trucking companies say they'll be hurt by the crackdown because they tend to operate older vehicles that spew out more pollution.

"I don't like this. There's already so many regulations on us," said Judy Locklin of Texas. "Nevada would be another California, and we won't come here. I don't go to California anymore."

But drivers who work for bigger companies say they're unconcerned about the new program because they operate newer, clean-running trucks.

"As long as they don't slow me down, I don't care," said Terry Horner of Florida. "I drive for a big trucking company and they keep the trucks well maintained. We don't have anything that's older than three years."

Daryl Capurro, managing director of the 300-member Nevada Motor Transport Association, also voiced no major objections to the state plan.

"We have a responsibility to the environment like everybody else does," he said. "If these vehicles are properly maintained, they'll be OK. If they're not maintained, they shouldn't be on the road."

The Nevada Environmental Commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday in Reno on the proposed regulations, which also would apply to buses.

Those who fail the test would be given an $800 ticket. The ticket would drop to $300 for those who repair their trucks. Second-time offenders would get a $1,500 ticket.

"We're looking to have those trucks that are really the gross polluters repaired," said Tom Porta, supervisor of the state Bureau of Air Quality. "Those are the people we're targeting."

The proposed regulations are a result of a state law passed in 1993 that requires the state to set up a diesel-truck testing program.

In 1994, the state conducted a pilot test in which 1,654 diesel trucks were tested at three roadside stops across the state.

The pilot program found that 11 percent of the trucks flunked the test, and the state expects a similar failure rate when the permanent program goes into effect.

The state held off a permanent program until the Society of Automotive Engineers completed a two-year program to develop a scientific standardized testing procedure for diesel trucks.