Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/378850
10 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 JOURNAL NEWS T he California Air Resources Board last month was granted permission by the federal government to enforce its requirement that trucks and trailers in the state be equipped with SmartWay-verified tires and other equipment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced. CARB asked EPA in June 2013 for a waiver of preemp- tion to the agency's Clean Air Act, which EPA granted, effectively allowing CARB to enforce its rule – more than four years after the effective date – requiring the use of certain tires and other devices that help improve truck and trailer aerody- namics and reduce fuel consump- tion. CARB's Heavy-Duty Tractor- Trailer Greenhouse Gas Regulations went into effect Jan. 1, 2010, and have a bevy of equipment requirements, but the preemption waiver granted by EPA was specifically for 2011-13 trucks and trailers running in the state. Several trucking groups filed formal comments during EPA's public comment period on CARB's request for the waiver, with nearly all stating opposition. The American Trucking Associations, however, said it wouldn't take a position on the waiver itself, but it did note that the four-year period between implementation of the rule and the actual enforcement go-ahead from EPA puts carriers that did invest in what they thought were mandatory expenses at a competitive disadvantage. "The fact there has been no enforcement to date has likely disadvantaged companies that made timely invest- ments (due to higher initial technology costs) as well as those companies that have observed little to no fuel effi- ciency benefit from the mandated equipment," ATA wrote in its formal comment. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, however, said CARB's green- house gas rule places "unfair and unconstitutional burdens" on small fleets and one-truck owners who aren't based in California. "… The regulation imposes arbi- trary, expensive and inequitable burdens on OOIDA members resid- ing outside of California," the group wrote in its formal comments. OOIDA estimates that carriers will have to spend between $7,520 and $9,325 (in 2008 dollars) per tractor-trailer to comply with the regulation. CARB, however, says it estimates the cost to be about $1,250 per tractor-trailer. It also says the fuel savings achieved by the devices will offer an 18-month payback. Both the California Construction and Truck Association and the California Trucking Association submitted comments ask- ing EPA to deny CARB's request to enforce the rule. – James Jaillet California cleared to require aero devices on trucks, trailers C alifornia's stringent emissions regulations seem to have been a boon for diesel particulate filter sales in the state, especially in the 12-month period of June 2013-June 2014, presumably as truck owners there began retrofitting their rigs for emissions compliance. Figures from the Manufacturers of Emission Controls Association show that DPF sales jumped 65 percent year- over-year in California in the six-month period between Jan. 1 and June 30 of this year, with 5,780 filters reported being sold by MECA members. In the same period in 2013, 3,508 filters were sold by MECA members, the group says. The last six months of 2013, however, were on par with the first six months of 2014, as MECA members sold 5,457 DPF units, the group says. In all of 2012, MECA members sold 6,261 filters for trucks and buses. The increased activity of late likely is in response to the California Air Resources Board's requirement that all trucks in the state be outfitted with a DPF. The deadline for instal- lation was Jan. 1, 2014, but the state had some alternative compliance options and dates in place for some truck own- ers who could have delayed compliance to June 30. CARB expects another 36,000 trucks still need to become compliant with its emissions restrictions, though MECA did not say how many trucks it or CARB expect to take such action. – James Jaillet DPF sales jump 65% in California in response to state's emissions regs CARB asked EPA in June 2013 for a waiver of preemption to the agency's Clean Air Act, which EPA granted.