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Board Approves a Four Year Delay of the Off-road Rule and Gives Dump Truckers Operating under 15,000 Miles per Year an Additional Two Years to Comply
Late on Friday, December 17 the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved major changes for off-road equipment and diesel trucks covered under the Statewide Truck and Bus Rule. While rejecting calls from the construction industry to suspend the rules due to flawed science and the poor economy, CARB will adopt and maintain both rules, but at a slightly slower pace.
For small fleets with 1998-2000 engines, the first action deadline is January 1, 2012 to file a report with CARB if they plan to take advantage of the delay described below. For fleets of four or more trucks, the first compliance date is December 31, 2011 under the two options described below. In the end, the agency defended its public health mission and federal requirement to meet the State Implementation Plan commitments. The paragraphs below summarize the changes, and CleanFleets.net is actively assisting its clients to develop the least costly compliance paths in light of these changes.
At this meeting, the Board approved all of the weight limits and timelines summarized below, with the exception of a new “two-year deferral for lower-use construction trucks” up to 15,000 miles per year. The intention of the exemption is to allow an additional two years of life for mainly dump trucks beyond the deadlines in the Small Fleet, BACT or Phase-in timelines described below. The specific language will be the subject of a new public posting of language for public comment in February or March 2011. CDTOA will review the language when it becomes available and remains focused on delivering the maximum relief available to dump truckers. Your input is needed on whether or not a 15,000-mile-per-year cap is meaningful or helpful to our industry. So far, most operators of belly-dumps, transfers, and super-dumps say no because they run too many miles even in this bad construction environment.
Off-road Rule
As part of a package of changes for the construction industry, all owners of off-highway construction equipment that is 25 horsepower and up have received a significant break. The changes approved to the In-Use Off-Road Diesel Vehicle Regulation are
• Four-year delay of the start date for all fleet sizes (it was a 2010 to 2015 start date),
• Compliance without any required retrofits,
• Simplification of the regulation by eliminating multiple fleet averaging options, and
• Lowered costs of the regulation.
Statewide Truck & Bus Rule
The CARB hearing on December 17 featured 110 speakers during the 8 hours the Board was in session. The items that stood out to me were: 1) environmental organizations opposing delays, 2) trucking companies—especially larger, better capitalized companies—are very concerned that their proactive investment in cleaner trucks will be eroded by a delay, as competitors who waited don’t have the truck payment costs and have a major cost advantage, and 3) the diesel filter manufacturer’s complaint that the market that CARB promised them has not materialized, and they have jeopardized millions of dollars in the process.
The bottom line is that I do not expect CARB to revisit any of the December 2010 hearing issues in a public setting for at least two years. And with the majority of state political officers being strong enviro-union supporters, it is unlikely that there will be any further regulatory compromises, though we may see some changes at the EPA, which could help.
“Lower-use Construction Trucks” Mileage Cap for Additional Delay
CDTOA and its industry allies continued to press CARB staff for an additional delay up to the hearing date. With conceptual language introduced by CARB staff the day prior to hearing, the Board approved a 15,000-mile annual limit for construction/dump trucks to be eligible for an additional two-year “deferral” of the upgrade requirement. CDTOA will have a role in crafting the final language, and no additional hearing by CARB is expected to finalize the language in February or March 2011.
Rule Changes Summary
The Rule has been amended to set a bar at 26,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR).
Class 4 to 6 Trucks (i.e. a GVWR more than 14,000 lbs and less than 26,001 lbs)
The amended regulation exempts diesel trucks in this weight range from meeting particulate matter (PM) filter requirements, starting in 2011. The first replacement deadline for trucks in these weight classes is 2015, when engines that are 1994 and older must be retired. Thereafter, no engine less than 20 years old would need to be replaced until January 1, 2020. Between 2020 and 2023, all 2001 to 2009 engines will need to be retired and all trucks in this weight range must have 2010 or newer engines by 2023.
The key points for dump truckers relating to trucks in this weight range are:
- Trucks with a GVWR of 19,500 pounds or less with a pickup bed used exclusively for personal or non-commercial use are exempt.
- Other diesel trucks (i.e. not meeting the exemption immediately above) count toward the “Small Fleet” limit of three trucks.
- An early compliance option allows a diesel particulate filter to be installed by 2014 and the life of the engine extended to 2020. (These trucks are typically less expensive and less complicated to retrofit, as CDTOA will review at the February CARB meeting).
Class 7 and 8 Trucks (i.e. greater than 26,000 lbs GVWR)
For trucks in this weight range there are now three compliance options (the fleet averaging option was dropped).
Small Fleets: Fleets of three or fewer diesel trucks subject to the Rule (i.e. three engines above 14,000 lbs. unless exempted) may delay any emissions upgrade until the end of 2013 provided they report to CARB. Beginning January 1, 2020, all vehicles in the fleet must comply with the 2010 engine or equivalent emissions requirements of the BACT compliance schedule (which is described later in this article).
Fleets with vehicles with 1998-2000 model year engines that do not meet the diesel PM BACT schedule by January 1, 2012 must comply with the reporting requirements by January 31, 2012. Fleets with vehicles with 2001-2004 model year engines that do not meet the PM BACT schedule by January 1, 2013 must comply with the reporting requirements by January 31, 2013. Fleet owners using Small Fleet provisions must comply with the reporting and record keeping requirements by January 1, 2014. The February 2011 CDTOA meeting and magazine article will focus on these requirements.
The Key Points for dump truckers relating to trucks in this fleet size are:
- Trucks with a GVWR of 19,500 pounds or less with a pickup bed used exclusively for personal or non-commercial use are exempt.
- Filters are allowed to extend the life of a 2003 or older engine beyond 2013 (the 2008 Rule banned 2003 and older engines by 2014).
- Filter selection, performance, cost and maintenance will be showcased at the February 2011 CDTOA meeting.
- Reporting is only required for 1998-2004 engines by January 2012 and January 2013. Expect the “lower-use” construction trucks to also require reporting and a high level of documentation of annual mileage.
Best Available Control Technology “BACT” Schedule
The best available control technology (BACT) schedule requires diesel particulate filters to be installed on 1998-2006 engines between 2011 and 2014. Engines that are 1997 and older are required to be phased out starting in 2014. A fleet that can retrofit, retire, and/or replace vehicles during the calendar years indicated in the chart below is not required to report unless using credits for early retrofit (i.e. installing a “Level 3” diesel filter by July 1, 2011 or an approved purchase transaction by May 1).
The Key Points for dump truckers with four or more trucks in this option are:
• This schedule is what Small Fleets need to comply with when the delays between 2013 and 2019 expire.
• Any fleet that can stay ahead of the retrofit (dark green) or retirement (red) compliance years does not report
Optional “Phase-in” Schedule
Fleets of four or more trucks may select this option in order to have more flexibility on which trucks to make compliant between 2011 and 2016 through the purchase of a diesel particulate filter or retirement. This option allows the owner to capture retirement credits if their fleet has downsized since 2006.
The Key Points for dump truckers with four or more trucks in this option are:
- This schedule allows multiple credits for downsizing credit, early filter installations, and also allows 2007-09 engines to be applied to the percentages.
- Reporting is required by January 2012
Conclusion
With the swearing in of Jerry Brown as our new governor and the reappointment of Mary Nichols as the CARB Board Chair now complete, it is extremely unlikely that there will be any significant policy shifts or personnel changes at CARB.
The work on the “lower-use, 15,000 miles or less” language, once completed, will signal the end of a four-year process in which CARB is determined to “green” all owner-operators and fleets that do business in California. We suspect that there will be a number of legal challenges concerning interstate trucks traveling through California that will be forced to comply with CARB regulations.
CleanFleets.net is available immediately to begin the planning and reporting process as we have for more than 150 fleets over the past ten years. Please contact me at (916) 718-7050 with any questions related to this article.
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