Post by HardTimeTrucker on Feb 2, 2010 0:02:22 GMT -5
New Friday deadline looming for Port of Oakland Truckers
www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_14313087
By Cecily Burt
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 02/01/2010
Port of Oakland truckers are facing another deadline:
They have until Friday to line up financing to pay for diesel filters or new trucks to comply with the state's strict air quality rules that went into effect Jan. 1.
Drivers who are not able to purchase the new equipment will not be able to haul cargo at the Port after Feb. 15, but organizations who are offering low-cost loans to pay for the filters say they have received fewer applications than they expected.
About 1,300 drivers who haul cargo for the Port were denied grant funding for filters and trucks last year when a $22 million fund ran out. Drivers who could not afford to pay for their own equipment were facing unemployment until the state Air Resources Board announced over the New Year's holiday that it had found $11 million to help the rejected grantees buy new trucks or filters.
According to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which is administering the grants for the filter retrofit programs, 742 truckers qualified for $5,000 filter grants and 44 truckers qualified for $50,000 new truck grants, said Lisa Fasano, the district spokeswoman.
More than 500 truckers who were eligible for the new grant funds never reapplied, but no one knows why.
Cascade Sierra Solutions, a nonprofit helping truckers whose income and credit ratings do not qualify for conventional loans, has taken in 255 applications so far. Some of the applications have been submitted by
drivers who are eligible for $5,000 grants that will be used to help pay for new filters, which average $16,000, but some of applicants are not receiving any grant moneys, said Sharon Banks, executive director of CSS.
It's possible that some drivers who thought they would be out of work on Jan. 1 decided to find a different line of work, or perhaps they secured loans or leases through other companies.
Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and his staff have been working to try and obtain federal grant funds to help the truckers, including a possible grant from the Department of Labor.
Banks said she is also working with other lenders to help the truckers get credit, since her organization does not have enough funds to handle it all. She said it is imperative that drivers who intend to apply with CSS complete their applications by Thursday in order to receive an extension to keep working at the port until April 30.
Banks said she must submit letters by Friday to the California Air Resources Board and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District on behalf of truckers who will qualify for loans.
On Feb. 16, the Air Board will start updating the state truck registry to mark as "noncompliant" trucks that were not able to line up financing, and they will be prevented from entering the port.
Myron Williams, of Madera, hasn't worked at the port since last year. He never applied for a filter grant last year so he doesn't qualify for a new $5,000 grant. He sat outside at OT-411 Monday, waiting for representatives from Cascade Sierra Solutions to show up so he could complete his loan application to buy a $11,500 filter for his 1999 model truck. Williams said he switched to hauling freight, but there's just not enough work and his bills have been piling up.
"If I have to camp out here all day, I will," he said. " If they let me back in the piers, I can work and get back in the race. Right now, I'm so far behind. I keep my faith in the Lord ... we're testing every day, but this is a big one."
Representatives from Cascade Sierra Solutions and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will be at the OT-411 trucker information center this week from 2-6 p.m.
www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_14313087
By Cecily Burt
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 02/01/2010
Port of Oakland truckers are facing another deadline:
They have until Friday to line up financing to pay for diesel filters or new trucks to comply with the state's strict air quality rules that went into effect Jan. 1.
Drivers who are not able to purchase the new equipment will not be able to haul cargo at the Port after Feb. 15, but organizations who are offering low-cost loans to pay for the filters say they have received fewer applications than they expected.
About 1,300 drivers who haul cargo for the Port were denied grant funding for filters and trucks last year when a $22 million fund ran out. Drivers who could not afford to pay for their own equipment were facing unemployment until the state Air Resources Board announced over the New Year's holiday that it had found $11 million to help the rejected grantees buy new trucks or filters.
According to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which is administering the grants for the filter retrofit programs, 742 truckers qualified for $5,000 filter grants and 44 truckers qualified for $50,000 new truck grants, said Lisa Fasano, the district spokeswoman.
More than 500 truckers who were eligible for the new grant funds never reapplied, but no one knows why.
Cascade Sierra Solutions, a nonprofit helping truckers whose income and credit ratings do not qualify for conventional loans, has taken in 255 applications so far. Some of the applications have been submitted by
drivers who are eligible for $5,000 grants that will be used to help pay for new filters, which average $16,000, but some of applicants are not receiving any grant moneys, said Sharon Banks, executive director of CSS.
It's possible that some drivers who thought they would be out of work on Jan. 1 decided to find a different line of work, or perhaps they secured loans or leases through other companies.
Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and his staff have been working to try and obtain federal grant funds to help the truckers, including a possible grant from the Department of Labor.
Banks said she is also working with other lenders to help the truckers get credit, since her organization does not have enough funds to handle it all. She said it is imperative that drivers who intend to apply with CSS complete their applications by Thursday in order to receive an extension to keep working at the port until April 30.
Banks said she must submit letters by Friday to the California Air Resources Board and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District on behalf of truckers who will qualify for loans.
On Feb. 16, the Air Board will start updating the state truck registry to mark as "noncompliant" trucks that were not able to line up financing, and they will be prevented from entering the port.
Myron Williams, of Madera, hasn't worked at the port since last year. He never applied for a filter grant last year so he doesn't qualify for a new $5,000 grant. He sat outside at OT-411 Monday, waiting for representatives from Cascade Sierra Solutions to show up so he could complete his loan application to buy a $11,500 filter for his 1999 model truck. Williams said he switched to hauling freight, but there's just not enough work and his bills have been piling up.
"If I have to camp out here all day, I will," he said. " If they let me back in the piers, I can work and get back in the race. Right now, I'm so far behind. I keep my faith in the Lord ... we're testing every day, but this is a big one."
Representatives from Cascade Sierra Solutions and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will be at the OT-411 trucker information center this week from 2-6 p.m.