CTA Bill
CTA Bill Would Pull Pre-1987 Trucks Off California Roads
AB 1675 (Goldsmith) has been termed by the California Trucking Association as an inoculation against a fleet rule issued by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that would require massive retrofitting fo the entire trucking industry. However, the bill would have significant effects on fleets or companies that are dominated by heavy-duty diesel-powered trucks older than the 1987 model year. The bill would prohibit the operation of all pre-1987 diesels on January 1, 2004, unless the truck has had its engine replaced with a 1987 or later model year engine, has been retrofitted with a CARB certified emissions reduction device, or is operated less than 35,000 miles per year. The bill is supported by a number of industries including the Western Propane Gas Association, the California Retail Air Quality Coalition, the California Grocers Association, and the California Bus Association. CARB opposes the bill because it would not reduce emissions from heavy-duty vehicles enough and would bear heigh administrative and enforcement costs.
Recent amendments to the bill also would require CARB to conduct a study to determine the actual costs of retrofitting pre-1987 model year diesels with emissions reduction equipment before the trucks are removed from the road. CTA claims the retrofits will cost only about $100 per truck while CARB places the retrofit costs at closer to $10,000 per truck. A Senate Transportation Committee analysis of the bill states that the bill would not affect most large trucking companies because their vehicles are replaced on a frequent basis and pre-1987 trucks make up very little of their fleets. The fate of this bill is uncertain due to the costs associated with he CARB study. The California Farm Bureau and the Council of California Agriculture have removed their opposition to the bill due to two recent amendments regarding the required study by CARB and the change in mileage per year from 5,000 to 35,000.
CTA and CARB are working to get older trucks off the road, or at least severely limit their on-road use, in order to address emissions problems and to comply with the State Implementation Plan. UHCA's President stated, "the efforts of CTA will immediately decrease the value of any pre-1987 as soon as the bill takes effect in January 1, 1997. Therefore, the financial impact will be felt in 1997 while there will be no emission benefits until 2004." The emission benefits of CTA's bill fall markedly short of CARB's goals, so far in fact that CARB now opposes CTA's effort to take pre-1987's off the road. AB 1675 would do little to achieve the SIP pollution objectives, but instead would jeopardize the business of small trucking companies who can't afford to retrofit their vehicles. The gross polluters (large fleets) will have already replaced their pre-1987 diesels by the year 2004.