CARB extends GHG reporting deadline

It applies to fleet owners with 20 or fewer 2010 and older 53-foot-long trailers that operate in California, covering both dry and refrigerated vans.

The Trucker News Services

7/5/2012

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has extended the reporting deadline to Sept. 1 of this year for its tractor-trailer greenhouse gas (GHG) to give smaller carriers more flexibility.

It applies to fleet owners with 20 or fewer 2010 and older 53-foot-long trailers that operate in California, covering both dry and refrigerated vans.

The regulation hopes to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced by certain heavy-duty tractor-trailers.

The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will be achieved by requiring the use of aerodynamic tractors and trailers that are also equipped with low rolling resistance tires. Along with reducing greenhouse gas emissions this regulation will, over time, save money as well as reduce our dependence on foreign oil, according to CARB.

The tractors and trailers subject to this regulation must either use United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) SmartWay (SmartWay) certified tractors and trailers, or be retrofitted with SmartWay verified technologies. The SmartWay certification process is part of U.S. EPA’s broader voluntary program called the

SmartWay Transport Partnership Program (SmartWay program). For information about the SmartWay program, go to http://www.epa.gov/smartway/.

Owners are responsible for replacing or retrofitting their affected vehicles with compliant aerodynamic technologies and low rolling resistance tires. All owners regardless of where their vehicles are registered must comply with the regulation when they operate their affected vehicles on California highways.

Besides the owners of these vehicles, drivers, motor carriers, California-based brokers and California-based shippers that operate or use them also share in the responsibility for compliance with the regulation. One or all of these parties may be held accountable for operating or using non-compliant vehicles on California highways.

For tractors subject to the regulation:

• 2011 and newer model year 53-foot or longer box-type trailers must be either SmartWay certified or retrofitted with SmartWay verified technologies, as follows:

• Low rolling resistance tires, and

• Aerodynamic technologies such as side skirts and trailer tails.

Or they may report by Sept. 1 to use the optional phase-in plan allowing smaller fleets up to four years to comply.

In either option, carriers must be using fuel-efficient, low rolling resistance tires on their trailers by Jan. 1, 2017.

Model year 2003 to 2009 refrigerated van trailers equipped with 2003 or newer model year transport refrigeration units have a compliance phase-in between 2017 and 2019, according to CARB.

For more information go to http://www.arb.ca.gov/truckstop.

The Trucker staff can be reached to comment on this article at editor@thetrucker.com.

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