Comment Log Display

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is currently considering
the adoption of an on-road diesel truck and bus regulation that if
implemented as presently drafted would have a profound, negative
impact on California’s economy and many small businesses like the
one I work for. 

Our company supports improving the state’s air quality.  However,
the Board’s proposed regulation places a significant economic risk
on our business today, which is already under stress from the
recent financial crisis.  Small businesses like Atchison Propane
Service, Inc. are still reeling from the high cost of fuel, soaring
insurance costs, and other state and government required fees and
programs.

CARB is proposing this multi-billion dollar regulation during the
worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and small
businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Companies like ours
are being asked to dispose of equipment and assets long before
their useful life has been completed and purchase new equipment
before it would otherwise be necessary. A combination of this
proposed rule and the state of the economy have left the trade-in
or resale value of our equipment worth pennies on the dollar. Our
company and others like us simply don’t make the margins necessary 
nor have the resources or access to capital to retrofit our
engines.  Some of us may be forced to sell off our trucks at a loss
or close our companies’ doors, ultimately costing jobs and revenue
to the state’s economy. 

Given the multi-billion dollar cost of this regulation and the
current volatile economic environment, please support the
alternative proposal provided by the” Driving Toward a Cleaner
California Coalition” that would give companies like mine the
opportunity to comply in the most reasonable timeframe and flexible
manner possible while still attaining aggressive emission
reductions. In fact, CARB’s own analysis of the DTCC alternative
confirms that the DTCC alternative proposal achieves roughly
similar emissions benefits to the proposed regulation in the
long-term.

Thank you for your consideration.