Acknowledging Mistakes, California Air Resource Board Agrees to Change Costly Rule on Off-Road Diesel Emissions

Last week, the California Air Resources Board admitted that its earlier estimates of the emissions from the off-road diesel equipment in California were too high, and in light of both its mistakes and the downturn in the economy, agreed to amend its costly off-road rule.  This action followed AGC's release of its own study of such emissions, where AGC found that the Board's original estimates exceeded actual emissions by at least 350 percent.  AGC also found and announced that - in the absence of any off-road rule - the construction and other regulated industries will exceed the Board's goals for emissions of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) through 2020 and 2025, respectively. How dramatically the Board will change the rule remains to be seen.  While it admitted to making a mistake, the Board maintained that it had overestimated emissions by no more than 100 percent, and did not make any specific commitments.  It did, however, agree to consider the following:

• Greater reliance on turnover to Tier IV equipment (which will not become available in the higher horsepower equipment until 2015) to improve air quality;
• While maintaining the structure of the current rule, streamlining its requirements;
• Providing some additional delay in the enforcement of the rule (which the Board has already agreed to stay until the U.S Environmental Protection Agency gives the Board the legal authority to enforce it);
• Reducing the retrofit, repower and replacement requirements that would otherwise take effect before 2015; and
• Classifying more vehicles as low use, and therefore exempt from the rule.

The Board also sought to reassure the contractors that have already complied with the rule, indicating that it will give these contractors credit for anything they have already done to reduce their emissions. AGC of America and both of its California Chapters will continue to monitor the situation carefully.  AGC has already asked the Board to delay all of the requirements for retrofitting, repowering, replacing or retiring existing equipment until 2015, and to eliminate all of the requirements specifically for NOx.   At this point, it remains far from clear that the Board is willing to go that far.  On the other hand, AGC has yet to review or comment on ways that the Board estimated the size of its earlier mistake, or to hold any follow-up discussions with the decision makers.