Nick Coltrain

nickcoltrain@coloradoan.com

It's been the bane of bicyclists, diners and pedestrians, and state Rep. Joann Ginal hopes to do something about it.

The thick black plumes that some diesel drivers trigger via aftermarket modifications have been used to harass people in Fort Collins and statewide — a behavior officials say isn't just unhealthy, but potentially dangerous. Ginal, a Fort Collins Democrat, is running a bill in the Capitol that she hopes will help dissuade those from "rolling coal," as it's known, in the state of Colorado.

"In some ways, it's a form of harassment," Ginal said. "I think people think it's funny, but really, it's not. It's harassing people trying to have a good time."

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Ginal, who represents much of eastern Fort Collins, including most of the Old Town area, said she heard from Fort Collins Police Services and City Councilman Bob Overbeck about the challenges of stopping coal rollers from shooting soot and exhaust on people. Her bill targets the action, not the ability, she said.

A person who is caught rolling coal — or "the purposeful release of high quantities of soot, smoke or other particulate emissions" in legislationese — on a person, bicyclist, or vehicle or obstructing a person's view of the roadway or traffic control device, would face a $35 fine and two points on his or her driver's license, according to the bill.

The proposal is scheduled for an April 7 committee hearing.

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Legislation in other states designed to target rolling coal has barred the modifications to allow the switch-based emission control. Lt. Craig Horton, commander of the FCPS traffic unit, said it didn't make sense to have officers peering under the hood of suspected vehicles when the behavior, not the equipment, is what officials hope to target. It would be both invasive for the citizen and unsafe for the officer to search for the modifications, he said.

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Using police and civilian witnesses "is really a much simpler way to enforce the law, it's a safer way to enforce the law and I think it's more fair," Horton said. The law also specifically targets behaviors that make people feel "harassed, annoyed or alarmed," and not diesel performance enthusiasts as a whole.

He used the example of someone hauling a trailer up Rist Canyon: They may want to modify their truck to get more power — and shoot black plumes in the process — but not douse anyone in doing so.

"We don't want to restrict their ability to modify their cars and we don't want to restrict their ability to work on their cars and enhance the performance of their vehicle," Horton said.

Overbeck said he's seen the "unhealthy, uncivil" coal-rolling behavior cropping up in Old Town over the past few years, and he's glad there could be a tool to curb it. Aside from dissuading some people from visiting Old Town, Overbeck said he's even heard stories of restaurant owners comping meals after patio diners get doused in soot.

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"(Rolling coal) has waves of impact that haven't really been measured in our community," he said.

Ginal's bill has earned support from downtown business authorities, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment and the Colorado Municipal League. The Diesel Technology Forum, a pro-Diesel advocacy group out of the Washington, D.C., area, also backs the bill.

In a letter to the chair and vice chair of the Colorado House Committee on Transportation and Energy, the Diesel Technology Forum writes that the industry is "extremely disappointed" in those tampering with emissions and engine control systems to spew smoke, and notes the strides the industry has made in reducing emissions to "near-zero" levels.

In a letter to the editor, the group doubles down, writing, "Coal rolling runs against everything industry has worked to reduce emissions and improve air quality, and most importantly is not a practice that is representative of today’s clean diesel engines."