CARB: Truck owners have been warned about 2013 requirements
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The California Air Resources Board is preparing to enforce new requirements for many trucks that enter the Golden State beginning Jan. 1. CARB says its efforts to reach out to trucking companies and inform them about the rule have paid off.
In a news release, CARB said it used recent enforcement blitzes to notify truck owners of new requirements of the state’s Truck and Bus Regulation, also known as the “On Road Rule.”
“Our efforts to reach out to the trucking industry have yielded positive results,” CARB Enforcement Division Chief James Ryden said, according to the release. “We have enforcement and compliance assistance teams all over the state who regularly inspect vehicles and educate owners, and recently, we’ve been pleased to note a compliance rate of more than 80 percent.”
The Truck and Bus Rule began enforcement earlier this year. By 2023, nearly every bus and truck operating in the state will have been modified or replaced to meet the rule.
The rule addresses diesel particulate matter by requiring either retrofitted diesel particulate filters or engine replacements.
In September, CARB inspected 4,053 trucks at 40 different locations. The agency said about 80 percent of trucks meet the state’s multiple diesel regulations.
For CARB’s Truck and Bus Rule – which currently require the retrofit of diesel particulate filters for trucks with 1996 through 1998 model year engines – trucks inspected had a 90 percent compliance rate.
Truck owners with 2000 through 2004 model year engines are required to have CARB-verified soot filters and/or upgrades to newer vehicles completed by Jan.1, 2013.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2013, truck owners with a model year 2000 through 2004 engines that aren’t modified to meet the Truck and Bus rule are subject to minimum fines of $1,000 per violation per month. Those fines “increase significantly” over time, according to a California Air Resources Board enforcement reminder.
In addition to the fines, non-compliant trucks may also be impounded by the California Highway Patrol.
For more information, or to check your compliance, call CARB’s trucking hotline at 1-866-6-DIESEL, or visit the CARB Truckstop website.
