Jerry Martin
Patricia Rey
(916) 322-2990
www.arb.ca.gov
ARB Audit of Butte County's Carl Moyer Program Exposes Operational Efficiency
SACRAMENTO - The California Air Resources Board (ARB) announced the results of its audit of the Butte County
Air Quality Management District's (district) Carl Moyer Program, a grant-funded effort to reduce vehicle emissions
through the replacement or retrofit of dirty diesel engines.
The district's Moyer Program is the fourth to be audited by the ARB as part of a plan to examine the local air
districts' allocation of a total of $50 million in the 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 fiscal years. ARB staff also reviewed
whether the program's implementation in fiscal years 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 were compliant with current requirements.
ARB Chairman Dr. Robert Sawyer said, "Dirty agricultural diesel engines are significant contributors to poor
air quality. Public health relies heavily on the work of rural air districts like Butte County to ensure that
maximum reductions in air pollution are realized. An effective and efficient managed Carl Moyer Program is essential
to accomplish cleaner air for California."
Over the past seven years of participation, the district has received over $900,000 in Moyer funds and has leveraged
this amount with over $100,000 in staff resources and local monies. During the district's first five years of
participation, over $500,000 of Moyer funds paid for 63 cleaner engines reducing smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx)
emissions by over 300 tons, and diesel soot by 17.3 tons over the life of the projects. The statewide program's
cost-effectiveness for the first six years of the program is $2,600 per ton of NOx reduced, while the cost-effectiveness
for Butte County during the same period is $2,200 per ton.
All projects reviewed during the audit met eligibility requirements and achieved real emission reductions in a
timely manner. The ARB has only made three findings that require action from the district and are limited to administrative
issues, such as lack of notification of incomplete application in files, and minimum contract and application requirements
not included in the program's eighth year. The district has addressed and will implement the audit's recommendations.
The ARB audit made special notice of the operational and administrative efficiency demonstrated by the district
in applying the program. The Butte County Air Quality Management District has made exemplary efforts to ensure
emission reductions are verifiable and some of its practices should serve as a statewide model for the Carl Moyer
Program.
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
Quality Management efforts in California to attain and maintain health based air quality standards.
