The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disclosed recent settlements with 3 companies totaling $201,000 in penalties for violating California’s Truck and Bus Regulation.
The companies either failed to install particulate filters on their own heavy duty diesel trucks or failed to verify that trucks they hired for use in California complied with the state rule.
“Diesel trucks are heavily used in the San Joaquin Valley and Los Angeles Basin, which suffer from some of the worst air quality in the nation,” said Alexis Strauss, EPA’s acting regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest.
About 625,000 trucks are registered outside of the state, but operate in California and are subject to the rule. Many of these vehicles are older models and emit high amounts of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. The rule, which requires diesel trucks and buses that operate in California to be upgraded to reduce diesel emissions, is an essential part of the state’s plan to attain cleaner air.
C.R. England, Inc. operated 34 heavy duty diesel trucks in California from 2013 to 2014 without the required diesel particulate filters. The company, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is required to pay a $64,000 penalty and is currently in compliance.
Knight Transportation Inc. failed to verify that the carriers it hired to transport goods in California from 2012 to 2014 complied with the Truck and Bus rule. Knight, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is required to pay a $72,000 penalty; the company agreed to register all of its hired contractors on the state database (TRUCRS) and to provide verification of state compliance.
Werner Enterprises, Inc. operated five heavy duty diesel trucks in California from 2012 to 2014 without the required diesel particulate filters. Werner also failed to verify that the carriers it hired to transport goods in California complied with the Truck and Bus rule. The company, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is required to pay a $65,000 penalty.
The California Truck and Bus Regulation was adopted into federal Clean Air Act plan requirements in 2012 and applies to diesel trucks and buses operating in California. The rule requires trucking companies to upgrade vehicles they own to meet specific NOx and particulate matter performance standards and also requires trucking companies to verify compliance of vehicles they hire or dispatch. Heavy duty diesel trucks in California must meet 2010 engine emissions levels or use diesel particulate filters that can reduce the emissions of diesel particulates into the atmosphere by 85 percent or more.
For more information on California’s Truck and Bus rule, please visit: www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/onrdiesel/regulation.htm
Published in the June 2017 Edition of American Recycler News