States to Supreme Court: Don’t allow Mexican truck entry

The attorneys general for California and eight other states have filed briefs with the Supreme Court opposing the Bush administration's effort to open U.S. highways to Mexican trucks without air-quality studies, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The court is scheduled to hear oral arguments April 21 on the administration's request to review a lower court order that prevented Mexican trucks from using U.S. highways without the environmental studies. A decision is expected in June.

Meanwhile, attorneys general from California, Arizona, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin said they thought the air-quality reviews were necessary under the federal Clean Air Act.

"In such states as California, Arizona and Texas, where the trucks would drive through areas designated as having 'serious,' 'severe' or 'extreme' ozone pollution, the additional contribution from the trucks would worsen an already critical air pollution problem," the state officials’ briefs said.

Critics say that most trucks used to haul freight from Mexico are older and less subject to systematic emissions controls. They also say these trucks would be more likely to pollute than those based in the United States.

Public Citizen said at least 30,000 Mexico-based diesel trucks would enter the United States in one year, including many older vehicles that are polluters.

Currently, about 8,500 Mexican trucking companies are allowed to operate in commercial zones in the United States that extend about 75 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.