I-5 Truck Idle Reduction Initiative

Press: California

Los Angeles Times – Burbank Leader
Saturday, October 2, 2004
Plugged in to Air Pollution
After spending some time studying the air quality around Horace Mann Elementary School in Glendale, Jerome Rizalado, 10, hopes that the adults around him will develop the same convictions he has about pollution. After learning about deforestation and the shrinking of animal habitats, Jerome has adopted a new philosophy. "Now I pick up trash. Before, when I was in a hurry, I sometimes threw it on the floor, but now I pick it up," Jerome declared Thursday. "I want to conserve. I want to be a good man—or, a good boy." Jerome was one of dozens of Mann Elementary School fourth- and fifth-grade students present when Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, along with representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, announced the launch of a new project aimed at reducing pollution along the Golden State (5) Freeway emitted by idling big-rig trucks.

The Monterey (CA) Herald
Thursday, September 30, 2004
News Briefs
Air quality officials are spending $200,000 for 20 electrical hookups at Southern California truck stops so truckers won't have to idle pollution-spewing diesel big-rigs during breaks. It's part of a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program designed to get West Coast industries to cut unhealthy diesel pollution. The EPA and South Coast Air Quality Management District are sharing the cost of the plug-ins. "We have a tremendous amount of diesel traffic and a tremendous amount of older equipment. The goal is to replace older engines with newer engines," regional EPA administrator Wayne Nastri said.

South Coast Air Quality Management District
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Press Release: AQMD, EPA Announce Project to Cut Truck Idling, Emissions
Southland and federal air quality officials today announced the region’s first project to reduce toxic diesel emissions from idling big-rig trucks by providing “plug-in” power at a truck stop along Interstate 5. “Long-haul truckers often idle their rigs for up to eight hours at a time to power their cabs while they rest -- wasting fuel and producing unnecessary toxic diesel emissions,” said Michael D. Antonovich, a Los Angeles County Supervisor and member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board.

Los Angeles CA Daily News.com