One of the key aspects is the requirement that Off-Road Diesel construction equipment regulation meet stringent Tier 4 requirements for air quality. The manufacturer Caterpillar has a white paper about the subject here. It appears the rule could negatively impact the industry at a time when it is already down.
So as the Washington Post reported, maybe this could bottleneck the stimulus. How would the work get done if the vehicles and equipment were not available?
I spoke with Mike Caples who publishes the Contractor News and Views and he shed some light on the issue.
The industry groups have found numerous issues with the rules.
Cost: It will cost engineering contractors a great deal of money to comply with the rule. Specifically the retrofitting and purchasing of the new engines could cost as much as $250,000. Additionally the since the engines are going to become obsolete before their normal life span the life cycle costing has been thrown out of whack. Instead of having 20 years for a off-highway vehicle to pay itself off, it now has a handful depending on the engine.
Technology: The technology is under development but it is not widely available. And more than likely will not be by 2011.
Safety: Some of the filters may obstruct the operators view. This could be a real safety hazard on sites.
According to the Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition (CIAQC):
The coalition members warned that admirable as the regulations may be, as they are currently written, the goals are simply unachievable and will only result in 10,000 to 30,000 lost jobs, delayed infrastructure improvement projects and unmet clean air goals.Ill keep drilling down on this one.
Thanks for the quick response and input.
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