SACRAMENTO - The California Air Resources Board is reminding owners of heavier diesel trucks and buses that new emission reducing regulations go into effect January 1, 2012 and many businesses may need to report compliance on-line.

The regulation, adopted in 2008 and later amended in 2010, applies to all privately owned and federal government diesel trucks and buses that transport in California.

“Fleet owners who need to get the facts should call ARB’s diesel hotline or go the ARB website for assistance as soon as possible,” said ARB’s Assistant Chief of Mobile Sources Erik White. “We continue to make tools available to help truckers better understand the regulation and determine which options make the most sense for their businesses. Several options are available for funding ahead of regulatory deadlines, as well.”

The regulation provides owners of heavier trucks and buses (those with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating greater than 26,000 lbs.) with two options to reduce diesel emissions. They can:

1. Follow a staggered implementation schedule that requires 1996-1999 model year engines be retrofitted with a diesel particulate matter (PM) filter by January 1, 2012; or,
2. Use a flexible phase-in option that requires any 30 percent of vehicles in the fleet to have a PM filter.  (Note: this option requires fleet owners to report information about all their heavier vehicles to ARB by January 31, 2012.  Fleets that report can also take advantage of credits and special provisions.)

Owners of small fleets (defined as one to three trucks with a GVWR greater than 14,000 lbs.) can postpone the January 2012 compliance requirement for their heavier trucks until 2014, but must report their fleet information to ARB by January 31, 2012, in order to receive the extension.

Lighter diesel trucks with a GVWR of 14,001 to 26,000 lbs. have no compliance requirements until 2015.

Business owners may find funding opportunities to upgrade their fleets through either the Carl Moyer Program, which offers incentive grants for buying cleaner-than-required engines yielding early or extra emission reductions, or by using Proposition 1B funds, available under the Goods Movement Emissions Reduction Program. 

Truck owners seeking compliance assistance and funding opportunities can:
• Visit ARB’s Truck Stop at www.arb.ca.gov/truckstop
• Call the Diesel Hotline at 866 6 DIESEL (866- 634-3735)
• Review the Truck and Bus Regulation Fact Sheet 
•  Email to 8666DIESEL@ARB.CA.GOV

The truck and bus regulation will significantly reduce emissions from the nearly one million heavy-duty diesel trucks that operate in California. The regulation is one of several emission control measures that aggressively target diesel pollution, which is associated with a host of health ailments including cancer. Diesel particulate filters remove 85 percent of the fine particle pollution found in diesel exhaust.