Beginning in May of 2007, AGC has been in front of the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) effort to set and enforce stringent and steadily declining standards for emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) from off-road diesel engines already in use in the construction industry. With the help of AGC of California and the San Diego Chapter, and additional financial assistance from Chapters nationwide, AGC has worked to persuade CARB to amend its rule and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to block its enforcement. Now, CARB has invited AGC to the table for help in reconciling the emissions data it used to create the rule.
AGC of America became involved because the Clean Air Act permits other states to identically adopt CARB's off-road rule, if it meets with federal approval. In total, AGC has written to EPA seven times, petitioned CARB twice to amend its rule, completed two studies of the "emissions inventory" that forms the foundation for the rule, and participated in two EPA proceedings on California's request for federal approval to enforce the rule.
On two separate occasions, AGC has formally presented to CARB detailed facts and figures showing that the "emissions inventory" and other data it has used to create the rule is flawed. In addition, AGC has hosted media events in California to draw attention to this issue, leading to lengthy articles in The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, San Diego Daily Transcript, Engineering News-Record and The Daily Reporter, as well as the Sacramento ABC station.
In response, CARB admitted that its data is off, albeit only by a factor of 1.4 to 2, but did agree to consider amendments to the rule and further delay enforcement. In light of the earlier errors and the downturn in the economy, Board members directed the staff to recommend amendments to the off-road rule. The Board also scheduled those amendments for consideration in September of 2010. AGC recently submitted additional comments to EPA on the rule and is awaiting a September meeting during which CARB will decide how to proceed. In the meantime, they have asked AGC to meet to reconcile its data with AGC's findings.
What the staff will recommend, and how dramatically the Board will ultimately change the rule, remain to be seen. The Board did express an interest in the following:
- Greater reliance on turnover to Tier IV equipment (http://www.epa.gov/nonroad-diesel/2004fr.htm), 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;
- 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.