Construction Industry Angry Over Diesel Filter Retrofits

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Construction contractors in Los Angeles and throughout California are fuming over the latest state attempts to curtail diesel emissions from off-road construction equipment.


That’s because even as the state Air Resources Board is still considering a final rule to limit diesel emissions, Democratic state Senate leaders have inserted a provision in the state budget under deliberation that would hasten the rule’s impact.


Specifically, the lawmakers at the behest of major environmental groups want to require diesel filter retrofits for every contractor bidding on projects funded by last year’s voter-approved infrastructure bonds. The first of these bond projects could be coming forward by early 2008, several years ahead of the compliance timelines the air board is considering.


These filters cost from $20,000 to $50,000 each, adding up to $1 million for a mid-sized project requiring a couple of dozen bulldozers, skiploaders, tractors and other equipment.


To soften the blow on small contractors, the lawmakers are proposing to exempt projects under $15 million and to set aside a pool of money of perhaps $20 million that small contractors could apply for to help with the cost.


But these provisions are still not enough to satisfy local construction contractors, who say the accelerated retrofit schedule would increase project costs, not to mention cause a shortage of diesel filters approved for use in California.


“If I was going to bid on a project and would have to invest in filters, I would put that cost into my bid. That in turn would eat up more of the bond money, leaving less for the actual construction,” said Tom Foss, president of the Griffith Co. in Santa Fe Springs. “That is, of course, assuming I could get the filters in the first place.”


One key issue still being hammered out is whether the filter retrofit would have to be done before a specific bond contract is awarded. If that were the case, many potential bidders would drop out, Foss said.


Whether any of this makes it into the final 2007-08 budget is an open question. Republicans are likely to oppose the provision, and since the budget requires two-thirds approval of both legislative houses this could become a bargaining chip.



Smoke Fee II

With tobacco retailer licensing fees in place in several major local cities, L.A. County is jumping into the act with a licensing fee for tobacco retailers in unincorporated portions of the county.


On June 5, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, led by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, authorized the county Department of Public Health to craft a tobacco retail licensing ordinance and set a fee on all tobacco retailers in the unincorporated portions of the county, home to nearly 1.1 million residents from Marina del Rey to Altadena. The fee would fund an inspection program to investigate sales of tobacco products to minors.


Yaroslavsky originally intended the fee to be the same for all tobacco retailers regardless of size. But Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke tacked on an amendment requiring the department to consider setting lower fees for small businesses with low sales of tobacco products. The department must bring an ordinance back to the board by Oct. 5.



Hangar Charges

For the first time in 15 years, fees for the use of aircraft hangars and tie-downs are going up at all five general aviation airports owned and operated by Los Angeles County.


On June 19, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a series of fee increases and one fee decrease at the airports, effective Aug. 1. The five airports are: Brackett Field in LaVerne, Compton/Woodley Airport in Compton, El Monte Airport, General William J. Fox Airfield in Lancaster and Whiteman Airpark in Pacoima.


“Aircraft tie-down rates have not been adjusted in over 15 years,” said Public Works Director Donald Wolfe in a letter to the Board of Supervisors. Wolfe said that the contract that the county signed in 1991 with Yorba Linda-based Comarco Inc. to operate all five airports has an annual increase tied to the cost of living and that the fees need to be adjusted to keep pace.


The hangar fee will increase about 4 percent, adding about $20 to the monthly cost. The tie-down rates will increase from $10 to $25 a month. Together, these fee increases will generate an additional $215,000 in revenues for the contract manager.


The only exception is a proposed $22 decrease in monthly fees for aircraft tie-downs at Compton/Woodley because of a 77 percent vacancy rate there.



Staff reporter Howard Fine can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 227 or at

[email protected]

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Howard Fine
Howard Fine is a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal. He covers stories pertaining to healthcare, biomedicine, energy, engineering, construction, and infrastructure. He has won several awards, including Best Body of Work for a single reporter from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers and Distinguished Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists.

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