California Construction Trucking Association (CCTA)

Stay tuned for a possible additional delay for construction trucking

CARB staff briefed its Board on November 18 about its continuing calculations of reducing emissions due to the current recession. These revisions to the inventory mean a relaxed Truck Rule when the Board meets on Friday, December 17 at its Sacramento headquarters. With CARB staff explaining that truck and bus emissions under the revised inventory have been reduced 35% in 2010 due primarily to the recession, there is obvious room to move compliance dates into the future.

CDTOA and other construction industry stakeholders met with CARB staff in late November to identify possible additional relief measures that CARB staff can embrace on or even before the hearing day. CARB staff could justify additional relief for construction trucking due to their own analysis of construction activity of off-road equipment being reduced by 80% in 2010 from what they originally estimated to justify that rule. Half of the off-road emissions reduction is due to the recession, and half is due to new information, according to CARB staff.

CDTOA will be working with its industry partners on lobbying efforts up to and on the hearing date to extract the maximum possible relief for construction trucking.

CARB On-road Emission Forecast

As far as forecasting for the on-road emissions inventory, CARB staff used transportation employment forecasts from both UCLA and the University of the Pacific to compare truck activity in 2006 to the current situation. In the chart below, the “CARB No Recession” reflects the growth that was expected over the next four years at the time the Truck Rule went to hearing in 2008.  The “CARB Updated” line shows the reduced emissions from all transportation sectors and expected growth. The “CARB Construction Trucks” line shows an even lower current emissions level, but recovery over the next four years at roughly the same pace as CARB expects for the rest of trucking in the state.

The bottom line is that the lowest of all the lines on the chart represents the construction trucks, and that may translate into additional relief.

Possible Additional Relief for Vocational/Construction Transportation

Both CARB and the construction industry have learned much from the Off-road Rule implementation, which began 18 months ahead of the Truck Rule. Once the off-road registration process was completed by contractors, CARB and the industry discovered that the current off-road equipment population had been reduced from the estimated 195,000 engines down to 145,000 that are actually in use. Fewer engines in the CARB model equates to less emissions.

When the Truck Rule staff report came out in 2008, CARB staff had estimated that there were 76,000 construction trucks in the state and that 25,000 of those were owned by large contractors. CDTOA and its industry allies are helping to add up the construction trucks, and nowhere near 76,000 can be found. CARB staff have also been conducting research through the DMV, but—surprise—there are not concrete conclusions there as to the actual construction truck inventory. Borrowing from prior work done by CARB staff, industry has requested another look at a mileage threshold, which would allow trucks operating fewer miles to delay retrofit or replacement.  Where the bar should be set will be a key discussion point between now and hearing date.

“Small Fleet” Still Has a Delay
There is no indication from CARB staff or members that any change will occur to the relaxed schedule for owners of 1-3 trucks, which appears below. For the owner of one dump truck (i.e. with a Class 7 and 8 weight rating) to take advantage of the small fleet provision, a report to CARB is required by January 2012 if that vehicle is required to install a PM filter before 2014 (as shown in the chart). Once a DPF is installed by the 12/31/2013 deadline, that engine and filter combination may run until 2020.

CDTOA is planning a seminar in February 2011 on diesel retrofit (i.e. DPF choice, installation, performance and maintenance).

In Conclusion
CDTOA leadership and staff continue to fight for additional relief from what we know to be a huge burden and worry for dump truckers. The construction industry work volume is arguably down 45%-60% from its 2006-07 peaks; certainly that is true for housing and commercial construction. And the work that is being bid is 20%-30% cheaper than it was at the peak, and that is also affecting the financial ability of these truck owners to replace or retrofit their equipment.

It is certainly frustrating that it has taken CARB staff over a year to come to the point of understanding the depression that has hit construction and recommending changes to delay the rule or find ways to help small business comply. With that being said, the wheels of bureaucracy do grind slowly, but in this case, are producing a rule that is significantly different from what the Board adopted two years ago.
If the staff-proposed changes are adopted on December 17, there can be additional life for 2003-and-older engines in the hands of a single truck owner. Pushing off the N0x requirement until 2020 to 2022 will mean reduced costs for many, so we remain optimistic.