The Golden State Rules
40 Commercial Carrier Journal December 2008 I n many ways, California stands alone. With a popula-tion of 36 million 12 percent of the whole United States and 50 percent more than the second largest state the Golden State dwarfs others as a market. Its gross state product of $1.8 trillion would place it among the world's top economies. California is a major supplier of produce and home to several ports of entry especially the crucial ports at Los Angeles and Long Beach. And, notes Mike Tunnell, director of environmental affairs for the American Trucking Associations, California is No. 1 in another category: Air pollution. California's nonattainment area a zone where either ozone or partic-ulate matter (PM) exceeds levels the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deems acceptable stretches from north of San Francisco to San Diego. As a consequence of its large size and daunting environ-mental challenge, California has built what is undoubtedly one of the largest non-police state agencies in the nation: the California Air Resources Board, or CARB. Directed by an 11-member board appointed by the governor, CARB's staff includes more than 1,000 engineers, scientists, attor-neys and analysts. CARB's efforts already have resulted in a number of changes for trucking, from a state-specific diesel formula-tion to engine idling restrictions to a retrofit/replacement mandate on reefer unit engines that needs only a waiver from the federal government to take effect. But two of the most significant measures to date go before CARB's board of directors for approval this month. The first draft regu-lation would mandate the retrofit or replacement of close California flexes its regulatory musCle By Avery Vise The state's size and commercial importance means that its environmental initiatives affect the entire trucking industry. It's a twist on the Golden Rule: The one with the gold makes the rules.