Continued from Page 21 which would apply to every heavy-duty vehicle owner. Currently, trucks that are still operating under the existing Truck and Bus Regulation are required to have a Periodic Smoke Inspection (PSIP) annually. These inspections measure engine opacity with the engine running, and if an engine is found to out of compliance with the truck’s engine model year opacity limitation, then the vehicle must have the necessary repairs done in order to operate the equipment. Oftentimes, if a fleet owner is locked out from updating their Truck and Bus fleet online, CARB staff will ask for the most recent PSIP inspection in order to verify mileage. The proposed updates to the HDVIMP program will still incorporate PSIP testing for some model year-specific vehicles (2010-13), but CARB is looking to take a more creative approach to ensure equipment and their emission control systems are functioning properly. CARB intends to take advantage of the technological advancements made by the equipment manufacturing industry, specifically the on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems that are tied directly into the engine. CARB is proposing to require fleet/vehicle owners to take their equipment to a licensed repair shop twice a year to have their trucks evaluated. From there, the repair shop would connect their computer with the OBD system within the truck. The repair shop would evaluate all emission control systems within the heavy-duty truck as well as monitor the opacity of the exhaust coming out of the truck as it is in operation. If any of the emission control systems show any sign of failure, a notice will be issued to the vehicle owner requesting immediate repair. Fleet/vehicle owners
22
West Coast Nut
December 2021
The intent of the Advanced Clean Truck Regulation is to evaluate larger, heavy-duty fleets and see where opportunities for electrification could occur.
are given 90 days to repair the equipment and bring it back to the repair shop to have the truck re-evaluated. Failure to repair and re-test the equipment would result in CARB notifying DMV of the truck’s failure and a temporary registration hold being placed on the equipment. Similar to tactics used in the most recent years of the Truck and Bus Regulation, CARB is working directly with the DMV in order to ensure compliance through registration holds. Owner operators would have to maintain their compliance with the mandatory inspections as well as keep a copy of their certificate on file. Vehicles would also need to be entered into a separate CARB database. Additionally, a $30 compliance fee would be included in a truck owner’s DMV Registration Renewal invoice. CARB is also looking for businesses to act as the agencies’ enforcement inspectors, asking that any business that contracts any trucking work ask to see a compliance certificate with the HDVIMP before beginning any work, and if one cannot be supplied, that the contracted trucking business not be allowed to continue working at the site.
‘Through the workshop process, many agricultural associations have raised the alarm that agricultural trucking works slightly different than overall goods movement.’ Through the workshop process, many agricultural associations have raised the alarm that agricultural trucking works slightly different than overall goods movement. The seasonality of agricultural goods movement and harvest support warrants some consideration from CARB staff, and truckers in the agricultural sector should be identified differently than the intended target for both regulations. Western Agricultural Processors Association along with several other agricultural organizations and associations has been active in supplying comments and working directly with staff to try and make both of these proposed regulatory changes more workable for the industry. Stay tuned for more updates!
Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com