The California Air Resources Board has proposed extending certain deadlines for truckers to replace or retrofit their vehicles, changes that the agency said would increase flexibility for businesses.
The rules had required carriers with pre-2007 diesel trucks to replace them or retrofit them with nitrogen oxide filters by this year.
Under the proposal announced March 6, trucks running exclusively in certain rural counties with low NOx levels would have until Jan. 1 to comply.
Truckers who were denied loans to install retrofits or buy new trucks will have until 2018 to replace their vehicles with 2010 or later models, CARB said.
CARB also is proposing to expand requirements for the low-use exemption to the rule and introduce an extended phase-in for small fleets, among other changes. Companies that already have complied with the rules will be allowed to keep their current vehicles longer than others, who will have to phase them out.
CARB Chairman Mary Nichols said her agency listened to truckers to develop the proposal. “The good news is that we will not have to sacrifice the state’s air quality goals to assist fleet owners,” she said. “These amendments, which include more flexible deadlines and increased opportunities to access incentive funding, will further our emissions-reduction goals by better ensuring that fleets can meet the requirements of the regulation.”
The full board will vote on the changes April 24.
