Comment Log Display

Dear Members of the California Air Resources Board:

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is currently considering
the adoption of off-road diesel regulations that, if implemented as
presently drafted, would have a profound, negative impact on
California’s infrastructure rebuilding efforts, the health of the
state’s construction industry and its overall economy. 

We want to be clear: Coastline Equipment is very supportive of
reducing particulate matter (PM) and NOx emissions from diesel
engines. In fact, using the Carl Moyer program over the past five
years in Southern California alone, the construction industry has
replaced more than 1,000 high polluting engines, resulting in a
reduction of more than 3,787 tons of pollution every year. 

There is no disagreement that we need to work collectively to
improve the state’s air quality and all of us want to provide as
healthy an environment as possible for our employees on our job
sites. However, in their current form, the Board’s proposed
regulations are not viable from an economic or technological
perspective. 

There currently is no diesel engine that is capable of addressing
both PM and NOx emissions. This lack of equipment technology and
availability are serious barriers to meeting the targets under
these rules. In some cases the engines and equipment necessary to
meet the stringent standards in these regulations will not come to
market until 2014. In addition, an estimated 165,000 pieces of
machinery will have to be retrofitted, re-powered or replaced over
the next 13 years to meet yearly reduction targets.   

While many of California’s larger construction companies have
already begun the process of repowering or retrofitting its fleet
in anticipation of these regulations, the smaller companies with
less than five employees, which make up more than 55 percent of
the industry, will be severely hampered by the costs of repowering
or retrofitting equipment that, in some cases, are the sole assets
of their family-owned businesses.  Additionally, many of these
companies simply do not have the resources or access to capital to
repower or retrofit their engines and may be forced to park the
equipment, ultimately costing jobs and revenue to the state’s
economy. 

These rules will also significantly reduce the buying power of the
historic $43 billion infrastructure bonds the people of California
approved in November. Due to the enormous expense of replacing
this equipment – in some cases more than $1 million for each
machine – we will be forced to increase the cost of construction
projects. This means fewer roads, schools, housing and levees will
be built and the pace at which these projects can be completed will
be significantly slowed. 

However, restoring just five years to the implementation timeframe
will give equipment manufacturers time to catch-up and produce
engines that will allow the industry to meet California’s
progressive air quality standards and distribute the massive
expense of purchasing new equipment out over a longer period. 

We look forward to working with you, CARB, environmental
organizations, the Legislature and other stakeholders to find a
feasible solution that achieves the state’s air quality goals
while keeping California’s economy moving forward. 

Sincerely, 
Lisa Ramey
Coastline Equipment