MY ETT News » CARB

Potential fleet savings by going green

Rhonda Flathman — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:33:10 +0000

Transportation is one area that is ripe for delivering savings to businesses looking for ways to contain costs in the new year, according to Thermo King Corp.

Transport companies nationwide are feeling the pressure to streamline operations. Transporters face diesel fuel prices that have the potential to reach $4 to $5 per gallon in the near future, and are further strained as they navigate the changing landscape of government regulations.

Add to this the steady growth in customer demand for greener transport solutions, and transporters must find ways to extend shelf life, reduce fuel consumption, decrease maintenance costs and differentiate through strategic capital investments in order to remain competitive.

The potential savings of a greener fleet aren’t limited to transporters, however. Businesses everywhere are feeling the economic pinch and are looking for ways to operate more efficiently.

From acquiring raw materials to shipping goods to market, transportation costs can have a significant impact on the bottom line and environmental impact of any business.

Consumer pressure is also a factor. Customers are increasingly aware of the environmental impacts of the products they buy, further driving businesses to invest in sustainable processes, including the supply chain.
Thermo King, a business of Ingersoll Rand, said it develops innovative transport solutions and that it meets this growing demand for efficient transport temperature control systems. With more than 70 years of experience, the company said it has implemented solutions for a wide variety of customers, including Edible Arrangements and C.R. England.

According to Thermo King, a greener fleet includes improvements in the following areas:
• Fuel Usage
• Idling Time
• CARB Compliance
• Emissions
• Noise
• Maintenance

For a complete list of improvements, visit www.thermoking.com.

As demand continues to grow from businesses seeking new ways to achieve improved efficiency, 2012 will see more companies allocating budgets to make improvements like those suggested here to their fleet vehicles and supply chains.

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CARB rejects port truckers bid

Rhonda Flathman — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:09:28 +0000

Truckers serving the Port of Oakland petitioned the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to delay emissions upgrades for drayage trucks, but the state agency declined. Undeterred, the West State Alliance, which is leading the charge on behalf of the truckers, is intent on ensuring their voices are heard. The next phase regulations calls for 2004 model engines to be retrofit with particulate filters by 2012, followed by 2005-2006 models to be brought into compliance by 2013. By 2014, all engines must be brought into compliance or replaced. The West State Alliance is seeking relief for the truckers affected by these new drayage truck rules.

After agreeing to a panel hearing, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has decided against a recommendation to delay the scheduled emissions upgrades for drayage trucks in the Port of Oakland.

“We did not accomplish our intended outcome,” Ronald Light, executive director of the West State Alliance told Fleet Owner following the hearing. The hearing was designed to give truckers hauling in and out of the area port the opportunity to voice their concerns about the impact of the scheduled Phase II, emissions-related upgrades for drayage trucks that are currently mandated by CARB under the statewide drayage truck regulations which went into effect in 2007.

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CARB OKs $40M in additional funding for clean vehicles

Rhonda Flathman — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:42:47 +0000

Yesterday, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a third year of funding to promote the purchase of next-generation clean cars, trucks and off-road equipment. The program will offer up to $40 million to be distributed on a first-come first-served basis. Trucking companies in the state can receive vouchers to help support the addition of fuel-efficient hybrid and zero-emission trucks into their fleets. In the first two years of funding, CARB helped subsidize more than 1,000 hybrid and zero-emissions trucks and buses. Funding for these programs is generated from expected revenues from smog abatement, vehicle and vessel registration fees.

CARB Extends Voucher Program for Fuel-Efficient Trucks Into Third Year
The California Air Resources Board on Thursday, July 21, approved up to $40 million for the third year of funding to promote the purchase of next-generation clean cars, trucks and off-road equipment. Californians will be able to use vouchers or rebates on a first-come first-served basis toward the purchase of zero-emissions or plug-in hybrid cars and zero-emissions or hybrid trucks and buses.

“This money is going to put thousands of ultra-clean vehicles on our roads within the year,” says CARB Chairman Mary Nichols. “That means better air quality sooner and real progress in making a dent in our dependence on petroleum.”

Click here to visit CCJ and read the complete story.

CARB extends tractor-trailer reporting deadline to Aug. 1

Rhonda Flathman — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 20:36:33 +0000

The California Air Resources Board granted fleet owners a reprieve, announcing on the date by which all tractor-trailers must have origingally submit phase-in compliance schedules that they were now given an extra 30 days. The new deadline by which owners of fleets of 21 or more trailers must notify CARB of their schedules to be fully compliant with the state’s greenhouse gas reduction regulation is Aug. 1. By opting in to this phase-in option, fleets can take up to five years to assure their equipment has been upgraded with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay-verified aerodynamic techologies. Fleet owners must register trailers with CARB before submitting their plans.

CARB Extends Deadline for Large Fleet Phase-In Compliance Plans to Aug. 1
The California Air Resources Board on Friday, July 1, announced that trailer fleet owners now have an extra 30 days – until Aug. 1 – to register their fleets if they want to take advantage of a flexible phase-in option for a new California regulation designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Tractor-Trailer Greenhouse Gas regulation requires tractors with 53-foot or longer trailers that travel in California to be equipped with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay-verified aerodynamic technologies, including low rolling-resistance tires, skirts and fairings.

Click here to visit CCJ and read the complete story.

Deadline nears for California GHG phase-in options

Rhonda Flathman — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:28:51 +0000

Fleets based or operating in California have until July 1 to submit “phase-in” compliance plans, giving them until 2015 to comply with the state’s greenhouse gas reduction requirements of using aerodynamic equipment and fuel efficient tires. But in order to take advantage of this extension, fleets must register with the California Air Resources Board and submit their compliance plans by the July 1 deadline. If they don’t, all trailers in the fleet domiciled in or bound for California must comply with GHG regulations by Jan. 1, 2013. Smaller fleets have a little more time. Those with 20 or fewer trailersl have until July 1, 2012, to register for a flexible compliance option, according to the agency.

Fleets Must Submit GHG Compliance Plan to Get CARB Extension
The deadline for fleets operating 21 or more 53-ft or longer dry van and refrigerated trailers in California to access flexible compliance options through the Golden State’s tractor-trailer greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction regulations is just 10 days away – July 1st, to be exact.

The rules affect all motor carriers that operate such 53-footers in California, regardless of whether the fleet is based in the Golden State or not. And the California Air Resources Board (CARB) said it wants to make sure affected trucking companies take advantage of the opportunity to use what it calls “flexible compliance options.”

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Clean vehicle rebates may run out by July, CARB warns

Rhonda Flathman — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:27:42 +0000

Response to the California Air Resources Board’s Clean Vehicle Project has been such that the incentive program is nearly out of money. The rebates ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 for passenger cars, zero-emissions motorcycles and select commercial electric vehicles are doled out on a first-come, first-served basis, but the number of requests could deplete the agency’s coffers by July. Funding could be renewed at CARB’s July board hearing, but changes to the program are expected. Among CARB’s proposals are tripling the money it makes available for the program, but cutting the rebate offered per vehicle in half to stretch its dollars further.

The California Air Resources Board on Tuesday, June 7, announced that rebates for Californians purchasing zero-emissions vehicles through the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project may run out by July due to high consumer demand. The rebate program may be approved for additional funds at CARB’s July board hearing and upon passage of the state budget with funds for rebates becoming available in the fall timeframe.

Should funds run out before new funding is available, applicants will be placed on a waiting list for funding. “California drivers responded even more enthusiastically than predicted to the advanced technology vehicles the car manufacturers are currently offering,” says Mary Nichols, CARB chairman. “This is a wonderful problem to have, since it means the air will be getting cleaner and less gasoline will be burned.”

Click here to visit CCJ and read the complete story.

CARB plans one-stop trucking events on diesel regulations

Rhonda Flathman — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 15:20:51 +0000

The California Air Resources Board is fanning out across the state, sponsoring one-day events to help truck owners familiarize themselves with the agency’s regulations, equipment requirements and funding opportunities. Beginning this weekend, the first of the three events will kick off in Riverside, with stops in San Mateo and Fresno also planned. At each location, mock truck inspections will be held, and classroom training will cover the following regulations: idling, heavy-duty vehicle inspection program, engine labeling, truck and bus regulation, drayage truck regulation, tractor and
trailer greenhouse gas regulation, transportation refrigeration unit regulation and associated funding opportunities. Local air district and CARB staff will also be available to provide individual assistance.

CARB Plans Educational Events for Truck Owners
The California Air Resources Board will hold a series of free daylong One-Stop Trucking Events around the state to help truck owners meet new rules for diesel trucks and learn about available government grants and funding. Participants at the events can learn about which regulations apply to their fleet, requirements for their equipment and the funding opportunities available to them.

“The goal of the events is to offer one-on-one help with truckers and truck owners about our diesel regulations, funding and the latest in clean diesel technology,” says James Goldstene, CARB executive officer. “We are committed to helping California’s trucking community reduce diesel pollution that seriously impacts the lives and health of all Californians.”

Click here to visit CCJ and read the complete story.

California Dump Truck Owners Association sues CARB

Rhonda Flathman — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:01:57 +0000

After years of trying to reach a satisfactory compromise, the California Dump Truck Owners Association said it has no choice but to sue the California Air Resources Board. Citing a depressed regional economy and a struggling construction industry, the CDTOA says that the state agency has expressed no empathy in the financially devastating effects that CARB’s Truck and Bus Regulation could potentially have. The rule essentially requires all heavy-duty diesel vehicles currently on California’s roads to be replaced with new CARB-compliant vehicles. However, CDTOA says its members have based their businesses on the ability to use their trucks for at least 800,000 miles, and they only average 50,000 miles a year. That, the organization says, will force many small business to close.

As originally reported by www.equipmentworld.com, the California Dump Truck Owners Association has filed suit against the California Air Resources Board to challenge the legality of the agency’s Truck and Bus Regulation. The lawsuit, California Dump Truck Owners Association v. Air Resources Board (Case 2:11-cv-00384-MCE -GGH), was filed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division, on Feb. 11.

In the lawsuit, CDTOA asserts that CARB’s regulation is unconstitutional as it is preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act and seeks an injunction prohibiting CARB from enforcing its rule. CDTOA notes that it has “attempted to work with CARB for more than four years to find reasonable solutions that accomplish the goal of cleaning California’s air while avoiding the needless devastation of the state’s trucking industry and specifically the dump truck industry.”

Click here to visit CCJ and read the complete story.

CARB announces second year of grants for hybrid trucks, buses

Rhonda Flathman — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:22:33 +0000

The California Air Resources Board announced earlier this week the availability of $19 million to support hybrid vehicle technology to help reduce emissions in the state. The Hybrid Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Program will provide vouchers on a first-come first-served basis to help California fleets purchase fuel-efficient hybrid medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. At least $2 million is reserved for public fleets, but both public and private fleets can reserve vouchers when a new vehicle is purchased. For more information regarding the voucher incentive program that details a full list of eligible vehicles and more, go to www.californiahvip.com.

The California Air Resources Board on Tuesday, Feb. 15, initiated the second year of grants totaling $19 million for hybrid vehicle technology to address smog-forming and greenhouse gas emissions. The Hybrid Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Program will provide vouchers on a first-come first-served basis to help California fleets purchase fuel-efficient hybrid medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

At least $2 million of these funds will be set aside for California public fleets to increase the number of hybrid vehicles. Interested public and private fleets can reserve a voucher for up to $40,000 through a participating dealership at the time the vehicle is ordered. The voucher then is redeemed at the time of purchase.

Click here to visit CCJ and read the complete story.

CARB touts diesel cleanup program’s success

Rhonda Flathman — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:36:58 +0000

The latest round of good news that the California Air Resources Board is cheering contains some previously unseen surprises. Results from its latest diesel cleanup program targeting ports, trucks, trains and ships has been successful in updating 5,300 trucks through retrofits or replacement. But, in a shift from many previous programs, one-third of the trucks that received program funding are owned by owner-operators, and half of
the funded vehicles are in fleets of 20 or fewer trucks, considered in California to be a small or medium-sized fleet.

A broad range of projects targeting freight transport, funded by state bond money and administered by the California Air Resources Board and air districts, has slashed emissions along trade corridors and near ports, cutting pollution from trucks, trains and ships, CARB announced Monday, Jan. 24.

More than 5,300 diesel trucks traveling the state’s busiest trade routes are being cleaned up, 19 locomotives operating in the Central Valley and Southern California are being upgraded, and clean electrical power will be available this spring for ships docking at the Port of Oakland thanks to $250 million as part of implementation of CARB’s Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program. The program is supported by $1 billion in voter-approved Proposition 1B bonds, of which $450 million already has been allocated.

Click here to visit CCJ and read the complete story.