It appears the White House and federal agencies are backing California’s play to supersede national air quality regulations and hit truckers who don’t comply in the wallet.
The White House reportedly green-lit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve a California waiver to impose emissions regulations for diesel-fueled commercial vehicles operating inside the Golden State. With what many are calling the most stringent emissions regulations in the country on the books, the EPA slapped a pair of out-of-state trucking outfits with fines in the hundreds of thousands.
“The companies, Capurro Trucking and Republic Services, operate diesel-fueled heavy-duty trucks in California, among other states, and failed to install controls to reduce pollution, upgrade model year engines, or verify that the trucks complied with state rules,” according to an EPA press release. “The EPA brought these enforcement actions under the Clean Air Act. Capurro Trucking paid a civil penalty of $119,162, and Republic Services, comprised of 30 entities, paid a civil penalty of $100,000, to resolve EPA’s respective violation claims against the companies.”
What’s concerning to trucking outfits based in other states, such as Capurro Trucking and Republic Services, is that crossing the border coerces them to follow regulations more rigorous than usual EPA standards. Although the EPA indicates it brought these actions under the Clean Air Act, it seems to be enforcing the California Truck and Bus Regulation. EPA Pacific Southwest Administrator Martha Guzman suggested as much regarding the resolution of the litigation, saying “national truck fleets…need to comply with our state’s truck and bus rule.”
The California Truck and Bus Regulation rule calls on owner-operators and freight carriers to meet its performance and emission standards. Trucks entering California must have a 2010 model year engine or the equivalent, in terms of emissions. The EPA release also gives a brief history of how the California Air Resources Board promulgated the 2023 rule.
The press release, coupled with the heft fine, seems to be putting others on notice heading into the New Year. It doesn’t take an English professor to read between the lines when the federal agency notes in its press release, “About 625,000 trucks are registered outside of the state but operate in California and are subject to the rule.”
As of Dec. 31, reefer drivers must contend with new rules directed at their operations. The Airborne Toxic Control Measure for In-Use Diesel-Fueled Transportation Refrigeration Units will take effect at year’s end. Truck transportation outfits that fail to comply could face stiff fines driven by the EPA as well.
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