The California Air Resources Board admitted recently that today’s off-road diesel equipment will easily meet the state’s emission goals for many years to come. However, the board is not giving up on pushing forward its regulatory agenda of monitoring and controlling the emissions of the industry’s construction fleets.
What may console the construction industry, however, is an expected series of delays to CARB’s nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter reductions, which were scheduled to kick in this year for large fleets (over 5,000 hp), in 2013 for medium fleets (2,501 to 5,000 hp) and in 2015 for small fleets (2,500 hp and under). Instead of indefinite delays, industry groups that have been battling CARB for years over what they call unsound, sloppy science say it’s time to repeal the current regulations and start over.