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Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) and the Importance of Cleaner Options in the California-Baja California Border Region
Communities around California’s southern border experience substantial air quality impacts relative to the rest of the state, much of which is caused by emissions generated by vehicles traveling across the border. The gap in emissions regulations between the United States and Mexico poses challenges for improving air quality and transitioning to zero emissions alternatives. However, collaborations between agencies in California and Baja California are making progress towards closing this gap and securing clean air for communities on both sides of the border. You can learn more about the zero-emission transportation and freight transition at the links below:
California-Baja California Border Master Plan
CARB page on commercial goods transport across the border
June 27, 2024: San Diego – Tijuana Air Quality Task Force Meeting
The next meeting for the San Diego-Tijuana Air Quality Task Force is scheduled for Thursday, June 27, 2024, from 10:00 am – 11:30 am and will be held virtually by Zoom. You can register to the meeting by clicking the link below.
June 7 through June 28, 2024: Public Comments on AB 617 Community Emissions Reduction Program (CERP) for International Border Communities (IBC) San Ysidro and Otay Mesa
Public comment is now open on the IBC CERP proposed under CARB’s Community Air Protection Program. The IBC CERP includes a focus on reducing emissions and exposure to oxides of nitrogen (NOx), reactive organic gases (ROG), diesel particulate matter (diesel PM or DPM), and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) from sources such as heavy-duty trucks and passenger vehicles, other mobile sources such as off-road vehicles and airports, and cross-border sources such as industrial related emissions, open burning, and odors. Public comments submitted before June 28, 2024, will be considered by CARB staff and included along with their report and recommendation to the CARB Executive Officer. Click “More Information” below to learn more about the program and to submit written public comments.
June 4, 2024: Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation Truck Regulation Implementation Group (TRIG) – Border Meeting #3.
Registration is now open for the third Border Meeting of the Truck Regulation Implementation Group (TRIG). The Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation was adopted by CARB at the April 28, 2023, Board Hearing, and was effective on October 1, 2023. The ACF regulation complements CARBs recently adopted Advanced Clean Trucks regulation and will help advance the introduction of zero-emission technologies into California’s truck and bus fleets requiring fleets to move to the cleanest available technology through requirements to both phase-in the use of ZEVs for targeted fleets and a 100 percent medium and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle sales requirement in California, starting in the 2036 model year. The purpose of the Border TRIG workgroup is to collaborate with border communities and provide guidance and information to meet regulatory requirements to border fleets.
Registration and More Information
Updates to the California-Baja California Border Master Plan
The California-Baja California Border Master Plan (Plan) helps coordinate the border region policy efforts of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the State of Baja California Secretariat of Infrastructure, Urban Development, and Territorial Reorganization (SIDURT), and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) Service Bureau. The goals of the Plan are to improve the capacity and operations of the existing infrastructure to decrease traffic congestion, facilitate international trade, reduce environmental impacts, and improve overall quality of life for residents in the border region. The Plan is updated every five years (previously in 2021) in close coordination with CARB and other sister agencies. There is a meeting planned for summer 2024 to discuss the Plan further as part of the SANDAG Border Committee process.
January 17, 2024: California/Baja California Regional Coordinators Meeting
The California/Baja California Regional Coordinators meeting will be held at San Diego State University - Imperial Valley Campus in Calexico, California, and virtually to increase accessibility and participation.
December 11, 2023: City of Tijuana’s Environmental Protection Directorate (DPA) Low-Cost Air Sensor Training
On December 11, CARB’s Border Affairs worked with Monitoring and Laboratory Division, and community-based partners Casa Familiar, to provide training on low-cost air sensors to the City of Tijuana’s Environmental Protection Directorate (DPA), in San Ysidro. The purpose of the training was to provide information on PurpleAir Sensors to DPA including procedures on installation, configurations, troubleshooting, and how to register the sensors. This training is part of a broader effort with CARB's binational partners at the California-Mexico border to improve air quality and provide low-cost sensors to the most impacted communities. The training was conducted under CARB’s MOU with the City of Tijuana signed last year.
December 6, 2023: City of Mexicali Environmental Protection Directorate Air Monitoring Instrument Calibration Training
On December 6th, CARB’s Border Affairs worked with Monitoring and Laboratory Division to provide training to the City of Mexicali Environmental Protection Directorate. The training focused on calibration of air monitoring instruments such as beta-attenuation monitors and other analyzers and was hosted at the offices of the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District and by Air Pollution Control Officer Belen Leon-Lopez. The State of Baja California’s Secretariat of the Environment and Sustainable Development was also in attendance.
December 4, 2023: Truck Regulation Implementation Group (TRIG) Meeting
The California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) invites you to participate in a public Truck Regulation Implementation Group (TRIG) meeting to discuss infrastructure. The following topics will be discussed at the meeting:
- Work with fleets to overcome challenges in deploying infrastructure
- Best methods to help fleets engage early and often with electricity and hydrogen providers
- Review available tools to assist with installing infrastructure
- Opportunities for fleets to engage in the multi-agency planning efforts regarding:
- Grid reliability/resilience
- Communication with utilities
- Use of available planning tools
This meeting will be held via Zoom. Interested parties must register to participate.
November 28, 2023: Binational Air Quality, Infrastructure, and Importation Opportunities Workshop
The California Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, and the US Environmental Protection Agency in partnership with Baja California’s Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable (SMADS / Environment and Sustainable Development Agency) and the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT), the California Energy Commission, and San Diego County provided a Binational Air Quality, Infrastructure, and Importation Opportunities Workshop to affirm binational cooperation with a goal of advancing and aligning local efforts, creating focused actions for improving air quality, and mitigating climate change for communities in the San Diego-Tijuana area and in the US-Mexico Border region. Speakers included Nora Vargas, San Diego County Board Supervisor Chair and California Air Resources Board Member; Liane Randolph, California Air Resources Board Chair; Patty Monahan, California Energy Commission, Member; Mónica Juliana Vega Aguirre, Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable, Baja California and Yana Garcia, Secretary for Environmental Protection, California. The workshop included presentations from SMADS, CARB, CEC, and the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District; and was held at Southwestern College - National City.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) 105 Grant
In September 2023, CARB’s Office of Environmental Justice, Tribal Affairs, and Border Relations (OEJTB) was selected for a Clean Air Act Section 105 Border Project Grant by USEPA. Under the project proposal, CARB will lead a concerted effort to make air quality improvement efforts in the California – Baja California border region. Additional information on this 105 Grant effort will be added to this page throughout the process.