The new rules would affect equipment used everywhere from airports to construction sites to golf courses and ski resorts. To reduce diesel emissions, companies would have to buy new machines, or new cleaner engines.  They’d have from 2010 to 2020 to do that.  Mike Lewis with the Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition says it would cripple contractors:

“Our estimate is that this is going to cost the industry over 13 billion dollars over that 10 year period and there simply isn’t the money within the construction industry to spend on those kinds of changes.”

Lewis says they need more time.  But Bill McGavern with the Sierra club disagrees:

“Californians have been breathing polluted air for too long and we’re already way past the federal and state deadlines for cleaning up our air and improving health standards.”

 McGavern hopes the state might offer financial help to small businesses in replacing old engines.