ACP Pubs

Loren Faulkner

A Tough Two Weeks For California Heavy Equipment Owners
May 5, 2008

On May 16th, it is anticipated that full CARB off-road diesel regs will be approved by California’s OAL and sent to the Governor for final sign-off. In the meantime, last Friday, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) unanimously passed an even stricter program, the “SOON Program.”

SOON requires very large fleets (>20,000 combined diesel horsepower) to almost double their air quality compliance efforts, making mandatory adherence to the regulations in 2009. 

A construction industry coalition at the SCAQMD meeting requested that the board wait 12 months before proceeding, and pointed out that passage now will not result in emission reductions sought by the district and CARB, but that equipment owners and operators will be subject to significant costs that go above and beyond those required to comply with the Off-Road Regulation.

Once again, voices of reason from the real-world of construction--not the hypothetical universe where unworkable rules are invented—have fallen upon deaf ears. Like lemmings headed for a cliff, it’s full speed ahead…

Posted by Loren Faulkner on May 5, 2008 | Comments (1)