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California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District is offering incentive funding of up to $50,000 for the purchase of a diesel truck or up to $100,000 for the purchase of a natural gas truck, in return for scrapping an older Class 8 diesel truck, the agency said.

While U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson indicated last week that her agency was moving forward with plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, opposition to a Senate cap-and-trade bill seemed to be gaining enough momentum to block its passage.

Senate Democrats expect to pass an unemployment benefits bill soon that includes a provision retroactively reinstating a biodiesel tax credit through the end of the year, according to a spokeswoman for Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

A proposed 5% biodiesel mandate has died in the Iowa state legislature, the Fort Dodge Messenger reported.

UPS Inc. said that it opened its C$30 million Calgary, Alberta, truck and air hub on Feb. 22, completing a consolidation project begun in June 2008.

While U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson indicated last week that her agency was moving forward with plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, opposition to a Senate cap-and-trade bill seemed to be gaining enough momentum to block its passage.

The average price of diesel around the nation jumped 7.6 cents a gallon to $2.832, as fuel reversed a five-week downward trend, the Department of Energy reported last week.

A group including motor carriers, businesses, several members of Congress and a conservative public interest legal foundation has filed a lawsuit in federal appeals court challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s finding that greenhouse gas emissions are a danger to public health.

The Environmental Protection Agency has not yet said how it intends to require heavy trucks to curb greenhouse gas emissions, but a report on the agency’s Web site projects that an advanced notice of rulemaking could be posted as early as June.