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The California Air Resources Board (ARB or Board) staff invites
you to participate in a public workshop on November 3, 2016, to
discuss planned measures to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
emissions from on-road heavy-duty vehicles. At this workshop,
staff will be soliciting input on proposals to revise:   

• The heavy-duty engine NOx standards including a low load
certification cycle;

• The Not-to-Exceed in-use compliance program;

• The useful life and durability requirements in certification;

• Not to Exceed (NTE) In-Use Compliance Program;

• Warranty period requirement; and 

• Emission Warranty Information Reporting 


The workshop is described further in the workshop notice at
https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/mailouts/msc1610/msc1610.pdf and
will be held at the following time and location: 
Date:	 Thursday, November 3, 2016
Time:	 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 
Location:South Coast Air Quality Management District, Auditorium
            21865 Copley Drive
            Diamond Bar, California 91765 

Directions are at http://tinyurl.com/ja4mxgk 

Background:
  
A key measure described in ARB’s Mobile Source Strategy document
is the establishment of national low-NOx emission standards that
reflect up to a 90 percent reduction in NOx emissions compared to
the current emission standards.  This measure is critical for
attaining federal health-based air quality standards for ozone in
2023 and 2031 in the South Coast and San Joaquin Valley air
basins, as well as fine particulate matter standards in the next
decade.  A proposal for new low- NOx emission standards,
associated revisions to the certification test cycle to account
for low load urban driving conditions, and other potential
revisions to account for real world emissions, is tentatively
scheduled for Board consideration in 2019.

In addition to lower NOx standards, other elements are being
considered in an effort to improve the in-use performance of
heavy-duty vehicles. Specifically, these elements are listed
below followed by a more detailed discussion of each: 

• Amendments to warranty provisions.

• Amendments to the NTE supplemental test procedures.

• Amendments to the certification durability demonstration and
useful life provisions.

ARB is considering lengthening the required warranty period for
heavy-duty vehicle emission control systems primarily because the
warranty period does not reflect the real world longevity of
heavy-duty vehicles.  Class 8 vehicles frequently operate upwards
of a million miles before major overhaul is needed, but they are
required to be warranted for only 100,000 miles under ARB and
U.S. EPA regulations.  Classes 4 through 7 vehicles also have
relatively short warranty periods.  With longer required warranty
periods, manufacturers would need to design more durable emission
control systems and components.  

In addition to lengthening the warranty period, ARB also intends
to strengthen and enhance the current Emission Warranty and
Information Reporting requirements to more readily enact
corrective action on the part of the manufacturer, based upon
warranty rates. A proposal to revise both the warranty period and
the warranty rates/corrective action requirements for heavy-duty
vehicles is scheduled to be heard by the Board in December 2017.

The NTE in-use compliance program is currently the primary method
used for ensuring in-use compliance with the heavy-duty engine
emission standards.  The NTE testing requirements were first
introduced as part of the 1998 Consent Decrees with U.S. EPA,
ARB, and heavy-duty engine manufacturers.  Manufacturers have to
demonstrate compliance within the NTE control area of the engine
map by measuring emissions using Portable Emissions Measurement
Systems.  However, the NTE control area includes a number of
conditions that exclude regions in the engine map associated with
low load operation, including the region below 30 percent maximum
torque and/or 30 percent maximum power.  Engine operations within
the NTE control area for fewer than 30 consecutive seconds and
engine operations that result in exhaust aftertreatment
temperatures below 250 degrees Celsius are also excluded from the
NTE analysis.  Because of these current limitations, the current
in-use compliance program is not adequate for ensuring that
emissions are controlled during the majority of in-use
operations, including low load conditions.  ARB is currently
considering modifying the testing protocol in order to
effectively assess in-use compliance under essentially all
driving conditions. 

ARB is also considering revising the durability demonstration
provisions within the certification requirements for heavy-duty
engines.  The durability demonstration program requires
manufacturers to demonstrate compliance with emission standards
over the useful life of the engine.  ARB staff are concerned that
the current durability demonstration program does not accurately
represent the in-use deterioration of aftertreatment emission
control systems.  Furthermore, the useful life over which
compliance with the durability provisions is demonstrated is
significantly lower than the full life or mileage before first
rebuild, resulting in excess emissions due to deteriorated
engines and components.  Therefore, ARB is considering revising
the useful life period as well, resulting in the need to revise
the durability demonstration process to account for a longer
useful life.  Revisions to the NTE in-use compliance program,
durability demonstration provisions, and the useful life period
are all scheduled to be heard by the Board at the same time as
the proposal for new low-NOx emission standards (i.e., 2019).  

Special Accommodation:
If you require a special accommodation or need this document in
an alternate format (i.e., Braille, large print), please visit
http://www.arb.ca.gov/html/ada/ada.htm for assistance or contact
the Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator by telephone
at(916) 323-4916 no later than 10 business days before the
scheduled meeting.  If you are a person who needs assistance in a
language other than English, please visit
www.arb.ca.gov/eeo/bilingual-services.htm or contact the
Bilingual Coordinator by telephone at (916) 322-0473 no later
than 10 business days before the scheduled meeting. 
TTY/TDD/Speech to Speech users may dial 711 for the California
Relay Service. 

Consecuente con la sección 7296.2 del Código de Gobierno de
California, una acomodación especial o necesidades lingüísticas
pueden ser suministradas para cualquiera de los siguientes:• Un
intérprete que esté disponible en la audiencia;• Documentos
disponibles en un formato alterno u otro idioma;• Una acomodación
razonable relacionados con una incapacidad. 

Para solicitar estas comodidades especiales o necesidades de otro
idioma, por favor llame a la oficina del Consejo al (916)
324-0342 o envié un fax a (916) 327-8524 lo más pronto posible,
pero no menos de 10 días de trabajo antes del día programado para
la audiencia del Consejo. TTY/TDD/Personas que necesiten este
servicio pueden marcar el 711 para el Servicio de Retransmisión
de Mensajes de California

For questions regarding the workshop, you may contact Mr.Daniel
Hawelti, by email at daniel.hawelti@arb.ca.gov or by phone at
(626) 450-6149.  





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