FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 29 August 2007CONTACT: Josh Dorner, 202.675.2384      Sierra Club, Teamsters, & Public Citizen Call for Emergency Stay            to Halt Entry of Mexican Trucks Beyond Border Zone           Pilot Program Does Not Satisfy Congressional Mandates (San Francisco, CA)--Sierra Club today joined with Public Citizen, theInternational Brother of Teamsters and others seeking an emergency stayagainst a pilot cross-border trucking program that fails to followsCongressional mandates for evaluating its impact on health and safety. The Bush administration's pilot program, which would open the US-Mexicoborder for up to 100 carriers -- with multiple trucks per carrier-wouldbegin this weekend. "We are proud to stand up with Public Citizen and the Teamsters againstthis attempt to circumvent health and safety protections," said Carl Pope,Executive Director of Sierra Club. "Before providing unconditional accessthroughout the country to tens of thousands of big rigs we know little tonothing about, we must insure they meet safety and environmentalstandards." According to the request for stay, the pilot program breaks laws requiringthe Department of Transportation to:*     create a program that yields statistically valid findings;*     show that U.S. trucks have the same right to travel in Mexico thatMexico-domiciled trucks have to travel      here;*     reveal the inspection results for all motor carriers allowed to drivebeyond the border zone before the      program starts. Allowing these long-distance hauling companies to operate  in the U.S.could result in increased traffic congestion and air pollution.  Thesetrucks spew high levels of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter -pollutants that contribute to respiratory illnesses such as asthma andbronchitis.  The exhaust fumes also contain chemicals that are likelycarcinogenic. The government has never analyzed how all of these new truckswill cumulatively impact air quality and health. "Until we know much more about these trucks, and until we've got a programthat would properly and legally evaluate their impact, this effort cannotmove forward," continued Pope. The lawsuit was filed in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.                                    # # #
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