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The environment desk at Aspen Public Radio covers issues in the Roaring Fork Valley and throughout the state of Colorado including water use and quality, impact of recreation, population growth and oil and gas development. APR’s Environment Reporter is Elizabeth Stewart-Severy.

Polluters to face steep fines

Elizabeth Stewart-Severy/Aspen Public Radio

Last night, Aspen City Council approved an ordinance to fine heavy duty diesel vehicles that emit too much smoke.

 

The new law localizes a state-wide regulation that requires diesel vehicles to keep emissions below 40 percent opacity, which is the measure of the particulate in smoke from trucks. Trucks are periodically stopped and tested; six of the 33 trucks at a test conducted earlier this summer failed.

 

The state rule imposes a $25 fine, which local officials say is not enough to encourage truckers to maintain their vehicles. Failure to comply with the Aspen ordinance, on the other hand, comes with a $500 fine - unless the owner can show that proper repairs have been made.

The ordinance goes into effect in spring 2017.

Aspen native Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is excited to be making a return to both the Red Brick, where she attended kindergarten, and the field of journalism. She has spent her entire life playing in the mountains and rivers around Aspen, and is thrilled to be reporting about all things environmental in this special place. She attended the University of Colorado with a Boettcher Scholarship, and graduated as the top student from the School of Journalism in 2006. Her lifelong love of hockey lead to a stint working for the Colorado Avalanche, and she still plays in local leagues and coaches the Aspen Junior Hockey U-19 girls.
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