SACRAMENTO - The
California Air Resources Board has fined the city of Camarillo
$5,250 for diesel truck inspection
violations in 2006 and 2007.
ARB enforcement
teams found that the city of
Camarillo
failed to meet the Transit Fleet Vehicle Requirements. In
addition, the city
did not inspect for its heavy-duty vehicles. The law requires annual
smoke
tests for diesel fleets and, in conjunction with ARB’s roadside smoke
inspection program, ensures that all vehicles are properly maintained,
tamper-free and free from excessive smoke.
“For over
a decade now
we’ve known that exhaust from diesel emissions is hazardous to our
health,"
said ARB Chairman Mary Nichols. “Cities
can go a long way in
protecting the lungs of their citizens by regularly inspecting their
diesel
truck fleets for excessive smoke emissions.”
As part of the settlement, the city is required
to:
- Guarantee
employees responsible for conducting the inspections attend a training
class on diesel emissions compliance testing and provide certificates
of completion within one year;
- Provide
documentation to ARB that the inspections are being carried out for the
next four years;
- Ensure
all of the city's heavy-duty diesel vehicles have their software
updated with the latest Low-NOx (oxides of nitrogen emissions)
programming;
- Instruct
vehicle operators to comply with the state’s idling regulations;
- Comply
with requirements of the fleet rule for transit agencies
- Revise
all heavy-duty truck engine software with the latest Low-NOx (oxides of
nitrogen emissions) programming; and,
- Ensure
that all diesel trucks are up to federal emissions standards for the
vehicle model year and are properly labeled with an emission control
label.
The city of Camarillo
will pay $5,250 in
penalties and $3,937.50 will go to the California Air Pollution Control
Fund,
providing funding for projects and research to improve California’s
air quality. The Peralta
Community College District will receive the $656.25 to fund emissions
education
classes conducted by participating California
community colleges. The California Pollution Control
Financing Authority
will receive the remaining $656.25
to
fund low-interest loans for owners of off-road diesel-powered
construction
vehicles.
Emissions from
diesel particulate matter are associated with causing a variety of
health
effects including premature death and a number of heart and lung
diseases.
The Air Resources
Board is a department of the
California Environmental Protection Agency.
ARB’s mission is to promote and protect public health,
welfare, and
ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants
while
recognizing and considering effects on the economy.
The ARB oversees all air pollution control
efforts in California
to attain and maintain health based air quality standards.
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