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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
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
22 West Coast Nut December 2021