People who have been working for years to reduce large truck traffic on the region's small, rural roads encountered a setback last week when the state said it must revise proposed regulations.

The state is taking this step after learning from the Federal Highway Administration that the state plan put out this summer would not comply with federal regulations. The state's proposal to keep large trucks mostly on interstates and major highways was not in synch with federal size and weight laws for these trucks.

This issue came to the state transportation department's attention during a public comment period on the matter last month.

We suppose it's good that the public comment period worked to flag a potential problem that could have resulted in legal problems down the road. But shouldn't this issue have been addressed much earlier in the regulation-forming process? Shouldn't state DOT staff know federal laws themselves?

Even if they don't, it just makes sense that the state transportation department would consult with the Federal Highway Administration at the beginning of the process to make sure its work meshed with federal law. For an entire set of regulations to get drafted and put out to the public without such consultation is simply bad government.

No, it's not a fatal mistake. Needed changes are still on track to be made that will help bring down the level of large truck traffic that is using small-town roadways as shortcuts. Many of the trucks are noisy, smelly garbage haulers on their way to the Seneca Meadows landfill near Waterloo.

What's unfortunate about the latest development in this matter is that the solution to the problem could be delayed as a result of sloppy bureaucratic work.