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newsrel -- ARB adopts changes to California's Truck and Bus Regulation

Posted: 25 Apr 2014 16:02:10
Please consider the following news release from the California
Air Resources Board: http://bit.ly/1jNpV4N

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

News Release 14-35

April 25, 2014
  
CONTACT:

Karen Caesar
(916) 322-2990
kcaesar@arb.ca.gov


ARB adopts changes to California’s Truck and Bus Regulation

Provides limited additional time for small fleets while still
protecting air quality


SACRAMENTO - The California Air Resources Board today adopted
amendments to its Truck and Bus Regulation that will provide new
flexible compliance options to owners of aging diesel fleets and
recognize fleet owners that have made investments to comply,
while also protecting air quality.

The changes approved at today’s Board hearing provide additional
regulatory flexibility to small fleets, lower use vehicles, and
fleets in rural areas that have made substantial progress towards
cleaner air.  Fleets that have invested in cleaner, compliant
equipment and trucks will be able to use credits longer and any
vehicles retrofit by 2014 do not have to be replaced until 2023. 


“We recognize the enormous investments that many businesses have
already made to clean up their equipment and abide by the terms
of the regulation,” said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols, “but we
are also aware that, particularly for many rural areas of the
state, economic recovery has been painfully slow and funding for
improvements scarce."

“By providing limited additional time for certain fleets to
comply, we believe that we’ll have higher compliance rates
overall.  It’s a difficult balance but we believe that this is a
fair approach that offers flexibility to those who need it, while
also rewarding those business owners who have already upgraded
their vehicles to meet the requirements of the regulation.” 

Nichols also said that the amendments, while potentially delaying
compliance for some, will still protect air quality, preserving
93% of the NOx (oxides of nitrogen) and diesel particulate matter
(PM) benefits of the original regulation.  

The amendments include:

•	A longer phase-in period for diesel PM requirements for trucks
that operate exclusively in certain rural areas with cleaner
air;

•	Additional time and incentive funding opportunities for small
fleets; 

•	A new compliance option for owners who cannot currently afford
compliance;

•	Expansion of the low-use exemption and the construction truck
extension;

•	Recognition of fleet owners who have already complied by
providing additional “useable life” for retrofit trucks and
reducing near-term compliance requirements. The amendments will
still ensure that, by 2020, nearly every truck in California will
have a PM filter, consistent with the goals of the Diesel Risk
Reduction Plan.

For more information, please see: 

•	April 2014 Proposed Truck and Bus Amendments <
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/onrdiesel/amend14.htm >


Fast Facts on Diesel Emissions:

•	Diesel exhaust contains a variety of harmful gases and more
than 40 other known cancer-causing compounds. In 1998, California
identified diesel particulate matter as a toxic air contaminant
based on its potential to cause cancer, premature death and other
health problems.

•	The Truck and Bus Regulation (Regulation) was adopted in 2008
to clean up harmful emissions from nearly all heavy-duty diesel
trucks operating in California. The Regulation was amended in
2010 to provide economic relief to truckers affected by the
recession, particularly small fleets, by delaying the first
compliance requirements by one year and extending the time the
truck could be operated before needing to be replaced. 

•	Approximately 1 million trucks operate annually on California
highways. Roughly 625,000 are based out of state. Of the
remaining 400,000 registered in California, about half are in
small fleets of three or less.

•	The Regulation currently requires most heavy trucks in
California to install soot filters or upgrade to newer models
with filters by Jan. 1, 2014, and that nearly all trucks have
them installed by Jan. 1, 2016.

•	For small fleets (three or fewer vehicles), Jan. 1, 2014, was a
critical compliance milestone because for the first time at least
one vehicle in each fleet needed to comply.
 
•	At its October 2013 meeting, the Board heard an update on the
Regulation and agreed with staff’s proposal to move forward with
a number of near-term strategies to provide flexibility while not
compromising the overall reduction and health benefits to be
achieved by the Regulation.

•	The changes were developed after some stakeholders voiced
concerns regarding their ability to comply with the Regulation at
the October 2013 Board hearing.  Truckers were able to expand on
these concerns at five ARB-sponsored public workshops held across
the state in December.

•	In 2000, the ARB adopted its Diesel Risk Reduction Plan, a
blueprint for developing regulations to address diesel emissions
from all sources including garbage trucks, urban buses,
construction equipment, port trucks and fuels. For more
information, see Diesel Risk Reduction Plan
.

•	Anyone with questions on current regulatory requirements can
visit ARB’s TruckStop website
, call
866-6DIESEL or email 8666Diesel@arb.ca.gov.


Diesel exhaust contains a variety of harmful gases and more than
40 other known cancer-causing compounds. In 1998, California
identified diesel particulate matter as a toxic air contaminant
based on its potential to cause cancer, premature death and other
health problems.




California is in a drought emergency.
Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.

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