Some 1,000 Oakland area truck drivers may be out of work on Jan. 1 because they cannot afford to retrofit their older rigs with costly diesel particulate filters. Many of those drivers discovered during the past two weeks that they will not receive grants from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to pay for the retrofits that will be required for access into Port of Oakland marine terminals beginning in 2010.

All pre-1994 trucks will be banned from terminals as of Jan. 1. The diesel filters, which cost $11,000 to $20,000 each to install, will be required on trucks with 1994-2003 engine models. Without the filters, the 1994-2003 model trucks will be banned for the port as well.

 More than 100 drivers showed up at a meeting at the Port of Oakland last week to ask for more grant money. The Port of Oakland contributed $5 million toward the $22 million pot of funds that the BAAQMD used for the grants. The drivers also asked for more time to retrofit their rigs. Neither request was granted.

 - The Cunningham Report