Watch your CARB(s)

 

BY OLEN HUNTER

 

The California Air Resources Board wants to clear the air in the Golden State. But its efforts to establish and enforce new air quality regulations leave many fleet operators confused, especially as the struggling economy makes it difficult to invest in clean air (green) technology.

 

The California Legislature established the California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board, also known as carb, in 1967. The legislature granted the 11-member, governor-appointed board the authority for regulating various activities in manufacturing, agriculture and transportation that can affect air quality.

 

Several local and state agencies, particularly urban areas with frequent air quality issues, are already closely following California’s efforts. Plus, Congress and the Obama Administration are considering federal legislation that would, among other things, establish an emissions cap-and-trade system allowing companies to buy and sell environmental credits. That’s why all truck fleet operators should stay ahead of the game by familiarizing themselves with carb legislation.

 

According to carb, trucks and buses account for about 30% of all statewide emissions of oxides of nitrogen and 40% of all diesel particulate matter emissions. That’s why California established this comprehensive program of regulations and incentives to achieve real, quantifiable reductions in greenhouse gases with the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB32).

 

To meet the global warming act’s goals of limiting greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, the board enacted several regulations governing the emissions from diesel-fueled vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 14,000 pounds. The board also approved a regulation that requires trucks or trailers equipped with transport refrigeration units (tru) with 2001 or older engine models to meet certain air emission standards before they can operate in the state of California.

 

Truck operators must replace trus that don’t meet the standards with compliant models or they must install approved aftermarket emission treatment systems. Since the board granted another six-month delay in enforcement to give truck operators more time to comply, enforcement is now scheduled to begin Jan. 1, 2010. That enforcement deadline was previously delayed six months from Dec. 31, 2008, to July 17, 2009.

 

The regulation establishes a timetable over the next several years that requires trus equipped with 2002 and subsequent model year engines be replaced or retrofitted with approved aftermarket emission treatment systems. Eventually, all trucks and trailers with refrigeration units running in California, whether they’re based in the state or out of state, will have to meet the same emission standards required of 2010 truck engines.

 

In December 2008, the board approved regulations that require truck operators to install exhaust retrofits that capture pollutants in emissions. The regulations also established an accelerated timetable. That timetable requires over the next several years eventual replacement of all heavy-duty diesel-fueled trucks with units equipped with engines that meet the epa’s 2010 emission standards.

 

The regulations also stipulate that truck owners must reduce diesel particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen emissions in order to meet certain performance standards. The regulations don’t require vehicle replacements until 2013 and they don’t require truck operators to replace all of their trucks in a single year.

 

However, by leasing diesel-electric hybrid vehicles now, fleet operators in California have a better chance of getting money from competitive state grants, including those available through the Goods Movement Emissions Reduction Program and the Carl Moyer Program.

 

Carb has provided three options for fleet operators to meet the California standards:

 

• Retrofit trucks with particulate matter filters and replace vehicles (or engines) according to a prescribed schedule based on the existing engine model year.
• Retrofit a minimum number of engines each year with a high-level particulate matter exhaust filter and replace a minimum number of older engines with newer engines that meet the 2010 new engine standards.
• Use particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen factors established by the regulation to calculate the average emissions of the fleet. Then, by a certain deadline each year, demonstrate that the fleet’s average emissions do not exceed the regulation’s emission targets.  (For more detailed information, visit the California Air Resources Board Web site at: www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/onrdiesel/documents.htm)

 

Hybrid diesel-electric technology can earn fleets additional credit toward meeting the regulation’s emission targets. That’s because carb provides truck operators exemptions, delays and credits for certain vehicle types.

 

For example, if a truck operator leases a hybrid diesel-electric truck that achieves a 20% or greater fuel economy improvement over a comparably equipped standard diesel vehicle, the operator can receive double credit towards the emission targets until 2017. Those additional credits can give the truck operator more time to run high-value or unique trucks that are difficult to replace.

Leasing specialists can help truck operators take full advantage of all of the incentives, exemptions, delays and credits available from carb, the state of California and the federal government. By doing this, truck operators can significantly lower their truck costs and reduce the impact California air quality regulations will have on their operations.                

 

Olen Hunter is the national sales director for PacLease. Because of its direct relationship with truck manufacturers Kenworth and Peterbilt, PacLease can help truck operators select the right choices in hybrid truck specifications that can further enhance their operations. Also, by taking advantage of what full-service leasing can offer from a provider like PacLease, truck operators can be fully prepared for the changes California’s new air quality regulations will bring in the next decade. And as more air quality management agencies adopt measures similar to those already enforced in California, PacLease can offer truck operators the ability to concentrate on what they do best instead of on the maintenance of their trucks or chasing down tax credits, incentive programs or grants from state and federal governments.