CARB May Defer Compliance With Truck Emissions Regulation

This story appears in the Dec. 14 print edition of Transport Topics.

The California Air Resources Board last week began to look into changing the state’s diesel emissions rule, which could give truckers hit by the recession more “flexibility” or even partial delays of one or two years in complying.

At its Dec. 9 meeting, the board asked the CARB staff to report in April on suggestions for amending the regulation’s requirements that currently call for motor carriers to begin retrofitting their older trucks, beginning in 2011.

Although the board stopped short of authorizing a delay in implementing the plan to reduce diesel emissions, it asked the staff to consider amendments that would reflect that emissions are down because of the recession but that would allow the rule to “ramp-up” if the economy improves.

Erik White, who is chief of CARB’s heavy-duty diesel strategies branch, told the board that options could include a one-year deferral of the rule for all carriers, a two-year deferral for midsized fleets or a two-year deferral for 10 trucks in any size fleet.

The board said it would vote in April on any suggested changes to the rule that would cover about 1 million trucks, fewer than half the number registered in the state and costing the industry about $5.5 billion.

The board also instructed its staff to withdraw and redo a report on the health effects of emissions, written by a CARB researcher who falsely claimed he held a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of California at Davis.

The decision to adjust the regulation was based in part on White’s new economic analysis. His study showed a sharp decline in the state’s truck activity, which has reduced diesel emissions 20% below normal projections, although the emissions are still higher than levels that would be achieved by the regulation.

In his report, White said overall truck activity in the state has declined as much as 18% since 2007 and that truck sales nationally are down 64% since 2005. The average age of trucking fleets has increased in 2009 to 10 years, from nine years in 2005, White said.

Even using the most optimistic economic forecast, White said, truck activity recovery could begin in 2010, but the industry would not match long-term trends until 2017.

While the reduced diesel emissions level might permit state environmental regulators to adjust the truck rule, Mary Nichols, CARB chairwoman, said rescinding the rule outright would not allow the state to meet stringent federal air quality standards by 2014.

“We’re well aware that the bad economy is hurting the trucking industry,” Nichols said, “but what we are not going to do is back down.”

“These actions by the CARB board represent a positive step toward acknowledging the financial realities trucking companies are facing today,” said Mike Tunnell, director of environmental research for American Trucking Associations. “The economy has not only washed away the capital needed to comply, but it has also resulted in decreased emissions. A better understanding of these factors is needed before the regulation moves forward.”

Tunnell said that some of the considerations the board would like to see addressed include credit for retrofitting early, a reevaluation of the emissions inventory, and various rule exceptions and financial assistance.

CARB passed the emissions-reduction rule for trucks and buses in December 2008. It requires truck owners to install diesel exhaust filters on their rigs beginning in 2011, with nearly all vehicles to be upgraded by 2014 (click here for previous story).

The board heard about seven hours of testimony from more than 90 witnesses at its Dec. 9 meeting. Most of the speakers were truckers complaining of hard economic times and environmentalists pointing out the public health hazards caused by diesel emissions.

Nearly all of the truckers who spoke asked that the board delay implementation of the rule.

Christina Ramorino, a “third-generation owner” of RoadStar Trucking Inc., Hayward, Calif., complained that the recession has caused her carrier to suffer a 20% reduction in revenue and to lay off 19% of its drivers.

Ramorino said she is concerned that the regulation “could put us out of business.”

Several other truckers who addressed the board echoed her concerns. One construction company engineer said the high costs associated with the regulation are a “rat trap that will make us bleed and break our bones.”