Estimated 200,000 vehicles including 70,000 big rigs have been banned from California roads starting this week. This follows the final adoption of 2010 a rule banning vehicles that do not comply with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations.
CARB implemented a set of clean air regulations in 2008, which were signed into state law in 2010 under Senate Bill 1. The Bill states that diesel vehicles weighing above 14,000 pounds with engines built before 2010 will cease operating in California starting Jan. 1, 2023. To enforce this regulation, officials in California have warned anyone with such a vehicle not to drive it in the state.
According to CARD, diesel exhaust is to blame for more than 70% of all cancer-related infections caused by airborne toxins. It is in this view that the agency has moved to end the operation of these trucks.
“Therefore, by January 1, 2023, nearly all trucks and buses will be required to have 2010 or newer model year engines to reduce particulate matter (PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions,” CARB stated on its website.
Even so, the agency has given owners of such vehicles a lifeline. Any vehicle that falls in this category will be exempted as long as an engine manufactured later than 2010 has been installed and the vehicle travels less than 1,000 miles a year. DMV will ensure that vehicles comply by deregistering any trucks and buses that do not meet the set standards.
The agency has expressed satisfaction with the rate of compliance across the state so far. In a memo, the board stated that over 1.58 million vehicles have already been fitted with post-2010 engines. The regulators will now start by enforcing the regulations in the busiest trucking areas. Proposed Advance Clean Fleets will target warehouses and sea ports.
Industry players have however lamented, stating that enforcing the regulation is not possible based on the nature of the industry.
“This will do damage to us. We don’t really understand how to charge these vehicles,” said construction company CEO Jaimie Angus. “Those pieces of equipment go home with those men every day, so they’ll need to be charged from home? How do you compensate that person for that?”
However, CARB maintains that it is necessary to remove the heavy polluters from the roads at any cost. CARB is already pushing another proposal that seeks to remove all gas and diesel trucks from state roads by 2045. (inhabitat via SF Gate)