Truckers headed into California in the New Year should be aware of a few additions and changes to the Golden State’s emission rules.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2008, California will begin enforcing the first of several new statewide rules aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, including:

• A new idling limit of five minutes. Previous idling limits allowed drivers to idle while they were in the truck’s sleeper berth. Also, CARB has tripled the $100 fine for surpassing the idling limit to $300.
• A ban on diesel-powered APUs for trucks with 2007 model year engines unless the APU has been retrofitted with a CARB-approved DPF filter. 2007 model year engines actually emit less diesel particulate than APUs.

The fate of two other CARB truck measures hasn’t been determined.

Joe Suchecki of the Engine Manufacturer’s Association recently told Land Line that all major OEMs are working to develop 2008 model year engines that meet CARB’s clean idling standard. Otherwise, trucks certified for travel into California must have a shutoff function enabled in the truck’s ECM that would cut the engine after 15 minutes of idling or five minutes of idling while the parking brake is engaged.

As of Friday, Dec. 21, CARB is still awaiting the EPA’s decision on California’s waiver request to begin requiring retrofits on reefers in December, 2008.

That law requires all reefer units must be 2002 or newer, unless they have been retrofitted to reduce emissions by 50 percent. The two-tiered requirements call for an additional standard in 2015 as the law continually removes older reefer units from circulation. A list of approved retrofits is available at www.arb.ca.gov/diesel/tru.htm.

For more information, visit CARB’s Web site at www.arb.ca.gov.

– By Charlie Morasch, staff writer
charlie_morasch@landlinemag.com