California’s Air Resources Board has unanimously approved a proposal requiring diesel engines to lower emissions by 75 percent in the next decade, according to news reports.
The proposal would require retrofitting of tractor-trailers, construction equipment, and anything else powered by diesel engines for cleaner fuels, particulate traps (filters designed to capture soot from exhaust), and the use of low-sulfur diesel by 2007, according to these reports.
State officials said they expect the emissions from diesel engines would be reduced to 75 percent by 2010 and 85 percent by 2020, the Sacramento Bee said.
California has more than 1.2 million vehicles with diesel engines, the board said in a Reuters report. Under the proposal, about 90 percent of these vehicles will be retrofitted with filters to trap soot particles.