In-Use Off-Road Mobile Agricultural Equipment Regulation
This page last reviewed March 13, 2013
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What's New?
The Final Agenda and Presentation Are Now Available: Agenda (PDF -19 KB)
Presentation
(PDF-2294 KB) Mailout announcing two public workshops to discuss the development of the Mobile Agricultural Equipment Regulation (PDF-107 KB)
California's Efforts to Clean Up Mobile Agricultural Equipment in the San Joaquin Valley (PDF- 203 KB)
Background:
The 2007 San Joaquin Valley 8-Hour Ozone State Implementation Plan
(SIP), approved by United States Environmental Protection Agency (US
EPA), requires ARB staff to present to the Board in 2013 a regulation
for mobile agricultural equipment that moves California towards meeting
ambient air quality standards for the San Joaquin Valley by utilizing
the cleanest available technologies. Specifically, the
approved
SIP includes a commitment to achieve emissions reductions of 5-10 tons
per day of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in the San Joaquin Valley by 2017
to accelerate progress toward attainment of the ozone
standard.
The attainment deadline is 2023.
In
addition, a new SIP for the new 8-hour ozone standard for the San
Joaquin Valley will be developed in 2014 for submittal to US EPA in
2015. The SIP will address additional reductions needed to
attain
the new 2015 8-hour ozone standard by the 2032 deadline; likely through
strategies that will rely on the availability of the cleanest
technologies in mobile agricultural equipment. New SIPs will
also
be needed for other areas of the State. However, for these
other
areas, additional actions for mobile agricultural equipment beyond the
emissions standards already adopted are not expected to be needed to
meet the federal attainment deadlines.
ARB staff is
proposing two rulemakings for mobile agricultural equipment.
The
first would implement the 2007 SIP and the second would be incorporated
into the 2015 SIP. The near-term rulemaking, which would be
submitted to the Board in late 2013, focuses on fully accounting for
the voluntary actions by the agricultural industry to reduce emissions
through their participation in incentive funding programs that
accelerate the use of the cleanest available technology equipment
(primarily Tier 3 off-road engines in mobile agricultural equipment) in
the San Joaquin Valley. Agricultural organizations working
with
the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, ARB, United
States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation
Service, and US EPA, have signed a Statement of Principles that allows
for a mechanism to be developed that will provide industry with credit
for the investments already made to clean up mobile agricultural
equipment. ARB’s action makes formal the written agreement
already reached among the agencies.
Finally, in
conjunction with the 2015 8-hour ozone SIP, staff will continue to work
with the agricultural industry to develop a long-term strategy to
increase the use of the cleanest technologies as they become
available. This strategy would focus on the introduction of
the
cleanest technologies (primarily Tier 4 final engines) through
incentive programs, regulation, or a combination of both to help meet
the 75 ppb ozone standard by 2032.
Additional information on the development of this regulation is below.
Upcoming Workshops:
| Dates and Locations | Description | Details |
March 14, 2013 in Fresno (live video conferencing will be available in Bakersfield and Modesto) March 15, 2013 in Sacramento (Webcast) |
Public Workshops Notice (PDF-107 KB) Agenda (PDF-19 KB) Presentation (PDF-2294 KB) |
|
| Mid 2013 | Public Workshop | A public workshop will be held for input on draft proposals for the regulation |
| Late 2013 | Board Hearing | Proposed regulation for Board consideration |
In-Use Mobile Agricultural Equipment Regulation Survey
In 2009, the California State University, Fresno Foundation conducted a voluntary survey of agricultural operations throughout California in order to update the emissions inventory for off-road mobile agricultural equipment. The purpose of this survey was to collect data on population, operational characteristics, and activity of off-road mobile agricultural equipment in order to update the emission inventory. The survey also included questions about the types and amounts of commodities produced. This information is needed to ensure that a statistically significant sample is collected and to estimate a statewide population based on known agricultural production statistics. Here is the link for the In-Use Mobile Agricultural Equipment Regulation Survey.
Other Agricultural Related Activities:
Here is the link for more information regarding other ARB activities related to California's agricultural community.
Contact Information:
For more information on the development of this regulatory strategy,
please contact Sam
Gregor, Air Pollution Specialist at (916) 323-0005 or Lynsay Carmichael,
Air Resources Engineer at (916) 322-0407.
The
Office of the Ombudsman is available to help answer questions or
address concerns regarding the regulatory process. For assistance,
please contact Zenia
Aguilera with the Ombudsman's office at (916) 327-1266.
For all media inquiries, please contact Cassandra Hockenson
with the Office of Communications at (916) 322-2990.
If you would like to receive
notices to stay informed of future regulatory progress,
including the release of proposed regulations and workshop
notifications,
please sign up for the "inuseag"
listserve.
