Welcome Rhetoric Doesn't Match Unwelcome Decision to Proceed with Air Resources Board's Off-Road Diesel Rule as Soon as Legally Permissible, Construction Group Says
Mike Kennedy, general counsel for the Associated General Contractors of America, issued the following statement in response to the California Air Resources Board's decision to 'delay:' enforcement of its off-road diesel emissions rule and hold a March 11 public meeting:
"We appreciate the opportunity to publicly air our concerns and expect Board officials will ultimately agree to significant changes to their off-road diesel rule. However, yesterday's decision to 'delay' enforcement of the rule until a federal waiver is issued is as legally meaningless as it is economically damaging. By committing to begin enforcement as soon as the federal government allows, the Board is only acknowledging legal reality, not providing relief.
"The state's own inventory data makes clear that off-road equipment operators will be well under the state's aggressive diesel emissions limits for years to come without this rule. Meanwhile, the decision to enforce the rule as soon as legally possible sends a chilling message to a construction industry that has lost over 116,000 jobs statewide this past year.
"Despite their acknowledgment that this rule will cripple the state's construction community, California officials seem more interested in providing meaningless gestures than they are in providing any relief from a rule whose only outcome will be to kill jobs.
"We intend to ask the members of the state Air Resources Board, which oversees the agency's activities, to immediately provide relief for thousands of construction workers from this unneeded rule."
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