SACRAMENTO -- The California Air Resources Board (ARB) today announced a cooperative agreement between itself, engine manufacturers and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) to test heavy-duty trucks in the field to verify that they meet emission standards. This program will help to improve California's air quality and better protect public health.

Catherine Witherspoon, ARB's Executive Officer said, "In-Use compliance testing provides information to environmental agencies and industry which helps identify durability and design problems which increase emissions to levels exceeding certification standards. This can result in recall of existing vehicles and or design improvements for trucks manufactured in the future "

The new In-Use Compliance Test Program was developed and will be implemented by U.S. EPA, the ARB and the Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA), and will test exhaust emissions of heavy-duty trucks (vehicles weighing more than 14,000 lbs.) while they are in normal use.

This new program is different from existing test programs because it will use a Portable Emission Measurement System (PEMS), allowing trucks to be tested on real roads in real world situations. Previously, engines had to be removed and testing had to be done in a specialized laboratory, making the process extremely costly and time consuming. California will launch a pilot for the 2007 national program later this summer

"Today's announcement represent a bold step forward in controlling air pollution from large trucks. We are happy to be working cooperatively with U.S. EPA and EMA to reach our emissions goals," Witherspoon added.

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.