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Appendix F: 

Optional Trailer Fleet Compliance 

Schedules 
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Appendix F: Optional Trailer Fleet Compliance Schedules 

The proposed regulation would require all 2010 and previous model year 53-foot 

or longer box-type trailers that operate in California to be compliant with its 

equipment requirements before January 1, 2013. Alternatively, in lieu of meeting 

this compliance deadline, trailer owners would also have the option to participate 

in one of two optional trailer fleet compliance schedules. These schedules 

include the large fleet compliance schedule for fleets of 21 or more 53-foot or 

longer box-type trailers, and the small fleet compliance schedule for fleets with 

20 or fewer 53-foot or longer box-type trailers. The trailer fleet compliance 

schedules would be available for 1) dry-van trailers and 2) refrigerated-van 

trailers that the owner elects not to bring into compliance with the refrigerated 

fleet compliance provision, as described in Chapter VIII, Requirements and 

Compliance Deadlines. 

For the purposes of this proposal, a “nonconforming trailer” means a trailer that 

does not meet the equipment requirements of the proposed regulation. Under 

the two optional trailer fleet compliance schedules, trailer owners would be 

required to retrofit applicable nonconforming trailers with SmartWay equipment to 

bring them into compliance with the proposed regulation or retire them from 

California service according to an established timeline. By participating in any 

compliance schedule, trailer owners would be agreeing to allow ARB to 

periodically audit their vehicles and records to ensure that they are in compliance 

with all air quality regulations. ARB would reserve the right to terminate an 

owner’s participation in any compliance schedule should the owner be found in 

violation of the proposed regulation. If participation in a compliance schedule is 

terminated by ARB, the owner would be required to reach full compliance within 

90 days or by December 31, 2012, whichever is later, but no later than 

December 31 of the final compliance year of the applicable compliance schedule. 

A. Minimum Fleet Compliance Thresholds 

Under either of the two optional trailer fleet compliance schedules, a trailer owner 

would be required to meet certain minimum fleet compliance thresholds. A 

minimum fleet compliance threshold is the percentage of total trailers 

participating in a compliance schedule that must be either in compliance or 

retired by the end of a compliance year. Minimum fleet compliance thresholds 

would increase from year to year, and a trailer owner participating in a trailer fleet 

compliance schedule would be required to retrofit or retire a sufficient number of 

nonconforming trailers every year to meet these compliance thresholds. The 

large fleet compliance schedule would have six annual minimum fleet compliance 

thresholds starting in 2010, and the small fleet compliance schedule would have 

four annual minimum fleet compliance thresholds starting in 2013. 

B. Trailer Fleet List 

Fleet owners participating in a compliance schedule would be required to provide 

a trailer fleet list, which would include information on all 53-foot or longer 
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box-type trailers within the fleet, including compliant, nonconforming, exempted, 

and refrigerated trailers. The trailer fleet list would serve the following purposes: 

• The number of trailers on this list would be used to ensure that fleets of 21 

or more trailers do not participate in the small fleet compliance schedule. 

• Except for refrigerated trailers to be phased-in under the refrigerated fleet 

compliance provision, and exempted trailers, only trailers participating in a 

trailer fleet compliance schedule would be allowed to be nonconforming 

after December 31, 2012. Therefore, the trailer fleet list would provide 

ARB a means to differentiate these trailers from nonconforming trailers 

that would be operating in violation of the proposed regulation. 

• The list would also provide ARB with a tool with which to enforce the 

provisions of these compliance schedules and ensure that participating 

fleets are bringing their trailers into compliance as they are required. 

• The list would be used to determine the compliance base number, which, 

in turn, would be used to calculate the retrofit and retirement commitments 

for each compliance year. The compliance base number would be the 

total number of nonconforming trailers that owners would choose to bring 

into compliance over the course of the applicable trailer fleet compliance 

schedule. The compliance base number would not include the following: 

1. Delayed compliance trailers, as determined in accordance with the 

early compliance option, as described in E.1. 

2. Early compliance trailers (trailers in compliance before 

January 1, 2010), 

3. Exempted trailers, or 

4. Refrigerated-van trailers for which compliance would be delayed 

pursuant to the refrigerated fleet compliance provision. 

Compliant trailers that are not used to delay retrofits and retirements of 

delayed compliance trailers pursuant to the early compliance option (as 

described in E.1) could also be included in the compliance base number 

and used to meet annual minimum fleet compliance thresholds. 

Except upon specific Executive Officer approval, ARB would not allow alterations 

to the number or identity of trailers on the trailer fleet list once the submission 

due date of the applicable compliance plan has passed. That is, outside of 

providing additional information about the trailers already listed, no other 

changes would be allowed. Model year 2010 and previous trailers brought into 

California after the applicable due date would not be eligible to participate in a 

trailer fleet compliance schedule, and would have to be compliant by 

December 31, 2012. Executive Officer approval would only be granted for 

extenuating circumstances, such as company mergers, acquisitions, or splits. 
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C. Compliance Plan 

To participate in an optional trailer fleet compliance schedule, a trailer owner 

would be required to submit a compliance plan outlining how the owner plans to 

meet the applicable minimum fleet compliance thresholds. The plan would have 

to include, for each compliance year, a detailed list of nonconforming trailers to 

be retrofitted or retired that year. The number of trailers included on each list 

would have to be enough to ensure that the fleet meets the minimum fleet 

compliance threshold for that applicable compliance year. By providing these 

lists, the owner would be making a commitment to retrofit or retire these trailers 

as reported. Failure to meet these commitments would constitute a violation of 

the proposed regulation. 

D. Small Fleet Versus Large Fleet 

The proposed regulation would offer a deferred compliance schedule for smaller 

fleets, providing additional time for them to bring their trailers into compliance. 

For the purposes of the trailer fleet compliance schedules, staff defined a “small 

fleet” as a fleet with 20 or fewer trailers. Staff established this definition by using 

transportation revenue estimates (CEC, 2007; EIA, 2008; and OOIDA, 2004) and 

the definition of “small business” set forth in Government Code 11342.610. 

To determine fleet size, fleets would have to account for all 53-foot or longer 

box-type trailers within the fleet, including exempted trailers, compliant trailers, 

nonconforming trailers, and refrigerated trailers. 

E. Large Fleet Compliance Schedule 

The large fleet compliance schedule was established for fleets of 21 or more 

53-foot or longer box-type trailers. If a trailer owner does not participate in the 

early compliance option, the large fleet compliance schedule would provide fleet 

owners six years to either retrofit all their nonconforming trailers to meet the 

equipment requirements of the proposed regulation or retire such trailers from 

California service. The annual minimum fleet compliance thresholds for the large 

fleet compliance schedule are presented in Table F-1 below. 

Table F-1: Minimum Fleet Compliance Thresholds for Large Fleets 

Compliance Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 

Fleet Compliance 

Threshold 5% 15% 30% 50% 75% 100% 

Staff believes that six years is enough time for manufacturers of SmartWay 

trailers and equipment to increase production capacity to match the expected 

increase in demand for their products. In addition, the time would allow certain 

fleets to better manage the concurrent financial and logistical impacts of the 

proposed regulation and the proposed Truck and Bus Rule. 
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1. Early Compliance Option 

The large fleet compliance schedule would also provide an option to delay 

retrofits and retirements until 2016 if an owner has compliant trailers operating 

before January 1, 2010. For the purposes of the early compliance option, an 

“early compliance trailer” means a trailer brought into compliance before 

January 1, 2010, and a “delayed compliance trailer” means a trailer for which 

compliance may be delayed until 2016. Under the early compliance option, one 

trailer brought into compliance before January 1, 2009 would allow the delay of 

1.5 trailer retrofits or retirements until 2016. However, a trailer owner would only 

be allowed to delay a maximum of 30 percent of the total number of trailers 

participating under the large fleet compliance schedule, which for this purpose, 

would also include their early compliance trailers. For example, a person who 

owns 100 trailers would be allowed to delay the compliance of up to 30 trailers 

until 2016, if they had brought at least 20 trailers into compliance by 

December 31, 2009. 

Delayed compliance trailers would be subtracted from the total pool of 

nonconforming trailers for the purpose of determining the compliance base 

number and retrofit and retirement commitments for compliance years one 

through six. Therefore, participating in this option would reduce the number of 

trailers that would have to be retrofitted or retired each year during the six-year 

compliance schedule. Delayed compliance trailers would have to be brought into 

compliance by December 31, 2016. 

The early compliance option would provide additional flexibility for trailer owners, 

but also ensure that GHG reductions would not be lost. 

 

2. Large Fleet Compliance Plan Revision 

Prior to the fourth compliance year, ARB would allow a trailer owner participating 

in the large fleet compliance schedule to submit a large fleet compliance plan 

revision to reorder trailer retrofit and retirement commitments for compliance 

years four, five, and six. For example, a trailer owner would have the option to 

switch a trailer scheduled for a fourth year retrofit with a trailer scheduled for a 

sixth year retrofit if, for some reason, the latter trailer was brought into 

compliance earlier than expected. This optional provision would provide trailer 

owners additional flexibility to re-evaluate their compliance plans at the mid-point 

of the compliance schedule. However, trailer owners opting to revise their 

compliance plan would not be allowed to alter commitments in a way that would 

result in the fleet’s failure to meet an applicable minimum fleet compliance 

threshold. 

F. Small Fleet Compliance Schedule 

For fleets with 20 or fewer 53-foot or longer box-type trailers, the small fleet 

compliance schedule may be used. This schedule provides additional time for 

smaller fleets to begin bringing their trailers into compliance. The annual 
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minimum fleet compliance thresholds for the small fleet compliance schedule are 

presented in Table F-2 below. 

Table F-2: Minimum Fleet Compliance Thresholds for Small Fleets 

Compliance Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 

Fleet Compliance 

Threshold 25% 50% 75% 100% 

The benefits of the small fleet compliance schedule would include: 

• Smaller fleets would have additional time to base their decisions on what 

technologies larger fleets are using. 

• Demand from larger fleets would stimulate equipment production and 

potentially drive down prices in later years when smaller fleets would need to 

comply. 

• The delay would provide additional lead-time for smaller fleets to devise their 

compliance strategies. 

G. Reference 

CEC, 2007. California Energy Commission. Transportation Energy Forecasts for 

the 2007 Integrated Energy Policy Report. CEC-600-2007-009-SF. 

September 2007. 

http://www.energy.ca.gov/2007publications/CEC-600-2007-009/CEC-600-

2007-009-SF.PDF

EIA, 2008. Energy Information Administration. Diesel Historical Data (.xls). 

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/wohdp/diesel.asp

OOIDA, 2004. Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association. 2004 Owner 

Operator Member Profile Survey.