Just an idle threat?
State’s anti-idling move hopes to cut pollution

Truckers idle their rigs outside th Pilot Travel Center at the Interstate Highway 40 exit 39 in Gallup. {Photo by Daniel Zollinger / Independent}

By Kevin Killough
Staff writer

GALLUP — As part of an effort to comply with an executive order by Gov. Richardson, the New Mexico Environmental Department came to Gallup Wednesday to hold an open house on truck idling with the goal of drafting effective proposals for restrictions. Representatives from the NMED were on hand to present information on anti-idling and get feedback from citizens and the industry.

“We want to hear about this from interested parties,” Jim Norton, director of the Environmental Protection Division of the NMED, who spoke from Santa Fe, said.

The executive order requires the department to “develop regulations and guidance for truck stop electrification for anti-idling capability by July.” It is part of a greater statewide effort to curb greenhouse gasses. The department claims that idling trucks are important contributors to emissions of CO2, the primary greenhouse gas.

Transportation regulations require truck drivers to rest 10 hours per 11 hours of driving. While resting, the truck is left idling to provide heating, cooling, and run appliances and electronics. According to the NMED, an intercity tractor-trailer will be left idling up to 1,800 hours per year. The trucks use about a gallon per hour when idling.

The NMED claims that not only will idling restrictions reduce greenhouse emissions, the move will save industry money. Though if that’s the case, it’s uncertain why the industry has not been more active in restricting idling trucks to reduce its costs. Calls to the New Mexico Truckers Association were not returned. Rita Trujillo, planning and policy section manager for the NMED, who was at the open house in Gallup, said that it’s difficult to get truckers to break the idling habit.

“People don’t like change,” she said.

The group is considering various alternatives to idling. One possibility is auxiliary power units that run on less fuel than the truck’s diesel engine. In turn, the units pay for themselves over time. Another alternative is electrifying truck stops. This allows truckers to use power from a hook-up station, which can also provide Internet and cable.
Since New Mexico gets its power from coal-fired plants, electricity still contributes to greenhouse emissions. But according to Norton, there would still be a reduction in CO2 into the air.

“It’s much more efficient to use electricity. They’re more designed to carry huge loads,” Norton explained.

What the NMED is not trying to do is take away trucker driver’s heat and entertainment.

“We want to hear about this from truckers. We want their electric needs met, and we don’t want them to shiver in their trucks,” Norton said.

The NMED is also seeking to find the best ways to enforce the law.

“We do need to be looking closely at this, and there shouldn’t be a heavy-handed approach to enforcement,” Norton said.

Currently 14 states and the District of Columbia have some idling restriction laws. Eight other states have local ordinances restricting truck idling.