State of California

AIR RESOURCES BOARD

Notice of Public Availability of Modified Text

PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE 

REGULATIONS FOR IN-USE OFF-ROAD DIESEL-FUELED FLEETS AND OFF-ROAD 

LARGE SPARK IGNITION ENGINE FLEET REQUIREMENTS

Public Hearing Date: December 17, 2010

Public Availability Date: August 22, 2011

Deadline for Public Comment: September 6, 2011

At its December 17, 2010, public hearing, the Air Resources Board (ARB or Board) 

approved amendments to its regulations for In-Use Off-Road Diesel-Fueled Fleets (OffRoad regulation), California Code of Regulations (CCR), title 13, sections 2449 through 

2449.3, and for Large Spark Ignition Engine Fleet Requirements (LSI fleet regulation), 

CCR, title 13, sections 2775 through 2775.2. The Off-Road regulation, approved in 

2007, is intended to significantly reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter (PM) and 

oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from the over 150,000 in-use off-road diesel vehicles that 

operate in California by requiring their owners to modernize their fleets and install 

exhaust retrofits. Complementing this regulation is the large spark ignition (LSI) fleet 

regulation, approved in 2006. The LSI fleet regulation is intended to reduce 

hydrocarbon and oxides of nitrogen (HC+NOx) emissions from the nearly 90,000 LSI 

vehicles operating in California by accelerating the introduction of new clean vehicles 

and the retrofit or retirement of uncontrolled in-use vehicles.

The Board’s Action 

At the December 17, 2010, hearing, after considering staff’s recommended 

amendments to both the Off-Road and LSI fleet regulations, the Board adopted 

Resolutions 10-47 and 10-48 (appended to this notice as Attachments 1 and 2). The 

proposed amendments to the Off-Road regulation delay the initial compliance date for 

all fleets by four years, provide a path to compliance without any required retrofits, 

simplify the regulation, and lower the costs of the regulation significantly while still 

maintaining progress toward clean air. The amendments also include additional minor 

modifications to clarify or simplify regulatory provisions. For the LSI fleet regulation, the 

proposed amendments broaden the definition of low-use vehicles to match that in the 

Off-Road regulation, broaden compliance extension flexibility, and make other minor 

clarifications.

At the December 17 hearing, staff also proposed additional amendments in response to 

comments made since the Notice of Public Hearing and Initial Statement of Reasons 

(Staff Report) was initially published on October 28, 2010. This included: 
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1) Amending the applicability of the Off-road regulation to bring in both engines of 

most two-engine vehicles; 

2) Amending the alternative fuel provisions; 

3) Clarifying the requirements for fleets that transfer ownership; and 

4) Add a new section to clarify that some funding sources may have guidelines 

limiting how future vehicles/retrofits can be counted towards compliance with the 

Off-Road regulation.

In addition to staff’s proposed amendments, the Board directed staff to take public 

comment on the following additional modifications to the Off-Road regulation: 

Incorporating into the Off-Road regulation and Truck and Bus regulation a 

compliance option that would allow on-road and off-road vehicles that have been 

retrofitted consistent with the requirements of the two regulations to count 

towards the compliance requirements of either regulation for a specified period of 

time, so long as the actions taken under this option do not result in the loss of 

emission benefits in any given year, and

Adding Northern Sonoma County to the list of areas covered by the definition of 

“captive attainment area fleet.”

In Resolutions 10-47 and 10-48, the Board directed the Executive Officer to incorporate 

the amendments set forth above into the proposed regulatory text, along with other

modifications and clarifications as may be appropriate, and to make such modifications 

available for a supplemental comment period of at least 15 days. This notice describes 

those proposed amendments and modifications.

Summary of Proposed Modifications to the Off-Road Regulation

At the December 17, 2010, hearing, staff proposed the following modifications in

response to comments received since the Staff Report was published on 

October 28, 2010. These modifications include:

1. Two-Engine Vehicles

Staff is proposing to amend the applicability of the Off-Road regulation (section 2449(b)) 

to include both engines of all off-road and on-road two-engine vehicles, except for the 

following: 

1) Two-engine on-road sweepers regulated by the Truck and Bus regulation;

2) Vehicles already subject to the Public Fleet and Utilities regulation (PAU 

regulation); and 

3) Two-engine vehicles that have Tier 0 auxiliary engines.

Staff would like to note that his proposed amendment would only remove the auxiliary 

engines in two-engine vehicles from the Portable Diesel-Fueled Engines Air Toxic 

Control Measure (Portable ATCM), and therefore some of these auxiliary engines may 
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still be required to maintain either an air district Permit to Operate or an ARB Statewide 

Portable Equipment Registration (“PERP registration”). 

Staff already amended the Off-Road regulation on two previous occasions to include 

both engines of two-engine cranes and two-engine water-well drilling rigs, and believes 

that bringing in other two-engine vehicles will continue to simplify regulatory

requirements for fleets with vehicles under several ARB regulations. Staff would like to 

note that although this amendment would not allow two-engine vehicles with Tier 0 

auxiliary engines, or vehicles already subject to the PAU regulation to be brought into 

the Off-Road regulation, these requirements do not apply to two-engine cranes, or twoengine water-well drilling rigs, since these vehicles were previously included in the OffRoad regulation. 

Staff is not proposing to bring any other two-engine vehicles with Tier 0 auxiliary 

engines into the Off-Road regulation because currently most Tier 0 auxiliary engines are 

banned from California use under the Portable ATCM. Removing these engines from 

the Portable ATCM and allowing them to re-enter the state, or to return to full usage,

would result in an increase in emissions from Tier 0 engines, and would result in 

emissions disbenefits throughout the State. Additionally, many fleets have already 

complied with the Tier 0 auxiliary engine ban, and would be at a competitive 

disadvantage if fleets with non-compliant Tier 0 engines were allowed to legally operate 

their two-engine vehicles with Tier 0 auxiliary engines within the State. 

In addition to modifying the applicability section of the Off-Road regulation, staff is 

proposing the following language to address two-engine vehicles:

1) Add a definition for two-engine vehicles (section 2449(c)(57));

2) Add language to the year-by-year and permanent low-use definitions to include 

two-engine vehicles (sections 2449(c)(39) and (63));

3) Modify existing section 2449(e)(14) to describe how two-engine vehicles interact 

with the rounding provisions of the regulation; 

4) Include a new initial reporting date of March 1, 2012, for all two-engine vehicles 

that will need to be reported (section 2449(g)(1));

5) Require the reporting of on-road engine and auxiliary engine information for twoengine vehicles (section 2449(g)(1)(B) and (C)); and 

6) Exclude the horsepower of two-engine vehicles from applicability section of the 

SOON program (section 2449.2(b)(2)(C)).

2. Alternative Fuel Provisions

Staff is proposing to amend section 2449(d)(1) of the alternative fuel provision to 

change the requirements for replacing diesel vehicles with gasoline-powered vehicles. 

Currently, a fleet may count a gasoline-powered vehicle towards compliance only if the 

fleet can show that a diesel vehicle was retired from the fleet within six months of the 

date a gasoline powered vehicle was added to the fleet. Staff has received comments 

that this requirement needlessly penalizes fleets that remove diesel vehicles from their 

inventory, but do not have the immediate need or financial ability to purchase a 
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replacement gasoline-powered vehicle within six months. Therefore, staff is proposing 

to remove this six-month requirement, so that a fleet must only identify which diesel 

vehicle the gasoline-powered vehicle replaced and maintain records of the functionality 

of both vehicles, as well as the date of sale and purchase of each vehicle. 

3. Fleet Ownership Transferred

Staff is proposing to clarify section 2449(d)(5) by adding language that further describes 

the requirements that must be met by new fleet owners who are acquiring fleets (or fleet 

portions), and by existing fleet owners who are acquiring fleets (or fleet portions). 

Currently, it is not clear as to whether or not a fleet portion is considered a “fleet” as 

discussed under this provision; therefore staff is proposing to add clarifying language to 

state that a fleet or fleet portion can be transferred. Additionally, in the current 

regulation there is no distinction between new and existing fleet owners. All new fleets 

(including new fleet owners that acquired existing fleets) are required to meet the new 

fleet requirements in section 2449(d)(4), which do not allow a fleet to comply with the 

regulation by using the Best Available Control Technology (BACT) requirements. Staff 

believes that this provision unfairly penalizes new fleet owners that are acquiring 

compliant fleets and therefore is proposing to amend this provision to allow new fleet 

owners who acquire already compliant fleets (or fleet portions) to meet either the BACT 

or fleet average requirements on the next compliance date (instead of requiring the fleet 

to meet the fleet average target only).

Currently, in the Off-Road regulation, there is no discussion of what happens to the 

BACT credits of fleets (or fleet portions) that are transferred to new ownership. 

Therefore, staff is also proposing to add in language allowing a new or existing fleet 

owner who acquires a fleet (or fleet portion) that had BACT credits, to keep those BACT 

credits as long as the acquired fleet or fleet portion continues to comply and report 

separately. If the fleet owner combines the acquired fleet (or fleet portion) for 

compliance and reporting purposes with the rest of his or her vehicles, the fleet owner 

will only keep the BACT credits accumulated from retrofits and repowers, and all other 

BACT credits from the acquired fleet will expire immediately.

4. Public Funds for Purchases, Repowers, or Retrofits

Staff is proposing to add new section 2449(e)(17) to clarify that if a fleet receives public 

funding to replace, repower, or retrofit a vehicle subject to the Off-Road regulation, 

credit towards the BACT and fleet average requirements will be awarded in accordance 

with the applicable funding guidelines. In addition, section 2449(g)(1)(H) of the 

reporting requirements was also added to require the reporting of additional information 

on this funded equipment. Staff would like to note that this proposed amendment is not 

a change in current policy, and the language does not change credit already awarded 

for vehicles replaced, repowered, or retrofit with public funds. The purpose of this 

language is only to clarify that some funding sources may have restrictions limiting how 

future vehicles/retrofits can be counted towards compliance with the Off-Road 

regulation. 
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In addition to the modifications described above, the Board directed that two additional 

amendments be made to the Off-Road regulation:

1. Excess PM VDECS credits used for compliance with Off-Road and Truck 

and Bus regulations

Staff is proposing to add new section 2449.1(b)(11) to allow fleets with vehicles in both 

the Off-Road regulation and Truck and Bus regulation (title 13, CCR, section 2025) to 

generate credits (called excess PM VDECS credits) when additional Level 3 PM 

VDECS are installed beyond the compliance requirements in either one of the two 

regulations in a given year. These credits may be transferred between the two 

regulations until January 1, 2017. 

Additional Off-Road retrofits used towards compliance with the Truck and Bus

regulation

Beginning on January 1, 2013, for large fleets, and January 1, 2016, for medium fleets, 

if a fleet meets the BACT requirements of the Off-Road regulation in a given compliance 

year, and then installs additional Level 3 PM VDECS in that same year, those additional 

VDECS installed may be used to generate excess PM VDECS credits to apply towards 

compliance the Truck and Bus regulation, under section 2025, as follows: 

Excess PM VDECS credits to apply towards the Truck and Bus regulation (i.e., 

number of Level 3 PM VDECS to apply towards the Truck and Bus regulation) = 

[(Total maximum power of additional engines with the Level 3 PM VDECS 

installed) divided by 300] truncated to a whole number

For example, if a large Off-Road fleet is required under section 2449.1(b)(1) to retrofit or 

turn over 1,000 horsepower (hp) between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013, the 

fleet could accrue credit that could be used towards compliance with the Truck and Bus

regulation as follows under the following scenarios : 

1) The fleet turns over 1,000 hp, and installs Level 3 PM VDECS on 300 hp. In this 

scenario, the fleet will accrue credits for one Level 3 PM VDECS, which may be 

used towards compliance with the Truck and Bus regulation. If the fleet uses the 

credit towards compliance with the Truck and Bus regulation, it would not receive 

any BACT carryover credit under the Off-Road regulation. However, if the fleet 

chooses not to use the credit towards compliance with the Truck and Bus

regulation, the fleet would receive 300 hp BACT carryover credit to apply towards 

compliance with the Off-Road regulation. 

2) The fleet turns over 1,000 hp, and installs Level 3 PM VDECS on 400 hp. In this 

scenario, the fleet would still only accrue one Level 3 PM VDECS credit, which 

may be used to towards compliance with the Truck and Bus regulation, since 

[(400/300) truncated to a whole number] = 1. If the fleet uses the credit towards 

compliance with the Truck and Bus regulation, it would also receive a 100 hp 

BACT carryover credit to apply towards compliance with the Off-Road regulation 

(since only 300 hp of the 400 hp was used towards compliance with the Truck 
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and Bus regulation). However, if the fleet chooses not to use any of the credit 

towards compliance with the Truck and Bus regulation, the fleet would receive 

400 hp BACT carryover credit to apply towards compliance with the Off-Road 

regulation.

If any fleet (large, medium, and small) installs a Level 3 PM VDECS early (i.e., at least 

one year before the fleet’s first Off-Road regulation compliance deadline), then that fleet 

has the option of 1) earning double carryover BACT credit to use towards compliance 

with the Off-Road regulation, or 2) earn single excess PM VDECS credit towards 

compliance with the Truck and Bus regulation. For example, if a large fleet installs 

Level 3 PM VDECS early (i.e., before January 1, 2013) on 300 hp, than that fleet has 

the option of 1) receiving a 600 hp of double carryover BACT credit towards the OffRoad regulation, or b) applying one Level 3 PM VDECS towards the Truck and Bus

regulation. 

Additional truck and bus retrofits used towards compliance with the Off-Road regulation

If a fleet subject to the Truck and Bus regulation generates excess PM VDECS credits 

under section 2025, those credits may be applied as a one-time credit towards 

compliance with the Off-Road regulation as follows:

Excess PM VDECS credit to apply towards the Off-Road regulation (i.e., 

carryover BACT credit in hp to apply towards the Off-Road regulation) = (Number 

of excess Level 3 PM VDECS from the Truck and Bus regulation) multiplied by 

300. 

For example, if one excess PM VDECS credit is generated through the Truck and Bus

regulation, a one-time BACT carryover credit of 300 hp may be used towards 

compliance with the Off-Road regulation. The carryover BACT credit can be used one 

time towards the BACT requirements of the Off-Road regulation until January 1, 2017, 

or until the vehicle which generated the excess PM VDECS is needed for compliance 

with the Truck and Bus regulation. Thus, if in the next year, the same retrofit is still 

surplus, no additional BACT credit is awarded (since it is a one-time credit). And, if the 

carryover BACT credit is not used before 2017, it will expire. 

2. Captive Attainment Area Fleet Definition

Staff is proposing to amend section 2449(c)(6) to include Northern Sonoma County in 

the list of counties included in the captive attainment area fleet definition. The counties 

currently included in this definition were considered federal attainment area counties at 

the time the Off-Road regulation was adopted in 2007. Since Northern Sonoma County 

is now a federal attainment county, staff is proposing to include it in the captive 

attainment area fleet definition. 

Additionally, staff is also proposing language to clarify that state and federally owned 

fleets cannot be considered captive attainment area fleets, since it is required for those 

fleets to meet the large fleet requirements. In the past, these federal and state fleets 
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could be considered captive attainment area fleets, because this status only meant a 

removal of the NOx requirements, and not an automatic small fleet designation. 

However, by changing the captive attainment area definition to re-designate all such

fleets as small, staff realized it was necessary resolve these conflicting requirements, 

and clarify that federal and state fleets can no longer be defined as captive attainment 

area fleets because they are considered to be large fleets under the regulation and 

must meet earlier compliance dates. Although state and federally owned fleets will no 

longer be able to claim the captive attainment area fleet exemption, they will still 

experience significant economic relief through the delay and reduction in compliance 

requirements given to all large fleets. 

In addition to the modifications and amendments listed above, staff is also proposing to 

restructure several sections of the regulation, correct clerical errors that have been 

identified since the December 2010 hearing, make consistent the use of certain terms

and acronyms, and to streamline the formatting throughout the regulation. All of these 

changes are intended to improve the clarity and to simplify the regulation by making the 

language more consistent and better organized. The more significant changes are 

described below:

1. Restructuring the Applicability Section

Staff is proposing to restructure section 2449(b), Applicability, so that this section is now 

a numbered list of vehicle and engine types affected by the Off-Road regulation. 

Previously, the applicability of the regulation was listed in paragraph form; staff believes 

that restructuring this section makes it easier to understand who is covered by the 

regulation and the types of vehicles to which the regulation applies. The changes are 

consistent with the structure of other ARB regulations. 

2. Modifications to Definitions

Staff is proposing to amend section 2449(c), Definitions, as follows: 

a. Added a definition of “fleet portion” under the fleet definition in section 

2449(c)(20). This term was previously used throughout the regulation, but was 

not defined. 

b. Added a definition for “flexibility engine” (section 2449(c)(25)), and to remove the 

definition of a “post-2007 flexibility engine,” formerly section 2449(c)(39). Fleets 

are required to report if they own a flexibility engine; however, the requirement to 

use a different emission factor for post-2007 flexibility engines has now been 

removed, which also eliminates the need to have these types of engines defined 

under section 2449(c). 

c. Modified the “permanent low-use vehicle” definition in section 2449(c)(39) to 

clarify that these engines must be used less than 200 hours per year. Although 

most areas of the regulation state that low-use vehicles must be used less than 

200 hours per year, this definition was inconsistent, and states that a permanent 

low-use vehicle can be used 200 hours or less per year (instead of less than 200 

hours). Therefore, this definition is being revised to state that permanent low-use 
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vehicles must be used less than 200 hours per year. 

d. Modified the definition of “retire” in section 2449(c)(45) to “retire or retirement”, 

which clarifies that retire and retirement have the same meaning in the 

regulation. Staff is also proposing to clarify in this definition that the return of a 

rented or leased vehicle by a fleet to a rental or leasing company is not 

considered to be a retirement, and that similarly, the rental or leasing of a vehicle 

by a rental or leasing company does not count as a retirement for the rental or 

leasing company. Although this language was included in guidance documents 

and implied throughout the regulation, it is not explicitly stated in the current 

regulation, and is therefore being proposed at this time to provide additional 

clarification on this issue. 

e. Modified the “turnover” definition in section 2449(c)(55) to remove NOx VDECS 

from this definition. The installation of NOx VDECS still accrues BACT carryover 

credit in the regulation, however, the amount of credit is calculated differently 

from the other actions included in this turnover definition. Since the calculations 

are different, staff feels that including NOx VDECS in the turnover definition is not 

appropriate, and is therefore proposing to remove the term NOx VDECS from 

this definition. Additionally, staff is also proposing to clarify that rented or leased 

vehicles that are returned to a rental or leasing company do not count as 

turnover for the lessee, and that similarly, vehicles leased or rented out by a 

rental or leasing company do not count as turnover for the rental or leasing 

company.

3. New Fleet Provisions

Staff is proposing to amend section 2449(d)(4) to require that new fleets must also meet 

the adding vehicle requirement (for all vehicles in the fleet) upon purchasing vehicles, or 

entering the State for the first time. Previously, a new fleet was only required to meet 

the next applicable fleet average target upon formation or entering the State, and did 

not have any adding vehicle requirements. However, this would still allow new fleets to 

bring into California or purchase older dirtier equipment that current in-state fleets are

banned from purchasing. This amendment is intended to close this loophole.

4. VDECS Removal 

Staff is proposing to add language to section 2449(d)(8) to clarify what happens if a 

VDECS is removed when it is not damaged and has not failed. If the VDECS is 

removed for safety or visibility purposes (as provided in section 2449(d)(8)(A)), and the 

fleet is no longer in compliance with the most recent compliance requirements, then the 

fleet owner has 90 days from the date of removal to bring the fleet back into 

compliance. In such a case, the fleet may keep any BACT credit earned from the 

installation of the removed VDECS. However, if the VDECS is removed for a reason 

other than safety or visibility issues, the fleet must forfeit any BACT credit earned from 

the installation of the removed VDECS. Additionally, if the fleet could not meet the most 

recent compliance requirements without the removed VDECS and forfeited BACT 

credit, the fleet would be required to be brought back into compliance within 90 days of 

the removal of the VDECS. 
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Staff is also proposing to add language to the annual reporting and record keeping 

requirements in sections 2449(g)(2)(B) and 2449(h)(5), respectively, to require the 

reporting of when and why a VDECS is removed. This information will allow ARB staff 

to track the various reasons for VDECS removal, and to identify potential VDECS 

performance and maintenance issues if they arise. 

5. Compliance After the Final Target Date

Staff is proposing to clarify that after the final target date for all fleets, the fleets may no 

longer use accrued BACT carryover credits (i.e., BACT carryover credit goes to zero). 

Therefore, if a fleet did not meet the final fleet average target by the applicable date, it 

would not be able to use any accumulated BACT credit after this point, and would need 

to take additional actions (such as further turnover or VDECS installations) in order to 

reduce its fleet average index each year until the final fleet average target is met. 

6. Compliance Extension for Equipment Manufacturer or Installer Delays

Staff is proposing to amend section 2449(e)(6) to reduce the lead time required to claim 

the compliance extension for equipment manufacturer or installer delays. Currently the 

regulation provides that if a fleet shows it has purchased or entered into a purchasing 

agreement for new vehicles or equipment (including VDECS) at least four months 

before the next applicable compliance date, the fleet will not be penalized if the 

equipment arrival is delayed or cannot be installed by the applicable compliance date. 

However, when staff proposed to move the compliance dates from March 1 to January 

1 each year, the four months lead time required to obtain this extension was also 

moved, inadvertently, from November 1 to September 1 of each year. Many public 

fleets were concerned that because of currently established procurement schedules, or 

because of timelines based on city/county fiscal budgets, they would not be able to gain 

the appropriate approval to purchase (or enter into a purchasing agreement) before 

September 1 of each year. Therefore, to alleviate this concern from public fleets, staff is 

proposing to reduce the lead time required to claim this compliance extension from four 

to two months, which would maintain the original November 1 deadline. 

7. Initial Reporting 

Staff is proposing to modify the reporting requirements in section 2449(g)(1)(B) to 

include the reporting of whether or not a vehicle has a VDECS safety exemption, and if 

the vehicle is exempt from the BACT requirements per section 2449.1(b)(2)(E) for the 

early installation of highest level PM VDECS. This reporting is necessary for staff to 

determine whether or not a fleet is meeting the applicable compliance requirements. 

Additionally, staff is proposing to remove the requirement for fleets to report the 

emission factor (sections 2449(g)(1)(C)9. and 10.), and to provide the certification 

Executive Order or certificate number for flexibility engines. Since these flexibility 

engines are no longer treated differently in the fleet average index, staff believes it is 

unnecessary to require fleet owners to report this information since it is no longer being 
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used in the fleet average index calculations. 

8. Annual Reporting and Responsible Official Affirmation of Reporting

Since the first large fleet compliance date has been delayed until January 1, 2014, staff 

is proposing to delay the start date for the annual reporting requirements for large fleets

in section 2449(g)(2) until March 1, 2012. Additionally, staff is proposing to clarify the 

responsible official affirmation of reporting requirements in this section to state that a 

responsible official or designee only needs to submit one affirmation if there are several 

fleets or fleet portions under the control of that responsible official or designee. To 

require more would be redundant. 

9. Fleet Average Requirements

Staff is proposing to modify the VDECS factors in section 2449.1(a) of the fleet average 

requirements to add factors for PM VDECS that are not the highest level PM VDECS, 

and for NOx VDECS that are installed in combination with a PM VDECS that is not the 

highest level VDECS. These factors were inadvertently left out when staff originally 

proposed the concept of VDECS factors in the Staff Report. 

10.BACT Requirements

Staff is proposing to both restructure and modify section in 2449.1(b), which contains 

the BACT requirements, to streamline the subsections, remove or combine 

unnecessary headings, and to group similar provisions together as a result of combining 

the PM and NOx sections 2449.1 and 2449.2. In addition to the restructuring of this 

section, staff is adding clarifying language to several provisions, as follows: 

a. Clarified section 2449.1(b) to provide that vehicles exempt from the performance 

requirements under section 2449(e), and vehicles with PM VDECS installed that

are not the highest level VDECS, cannot be used to generate BACT credits. 

Staff is also proposing to remove some of the language in the beginning 

paragraphs of this section to more simply explain what the BACT requirements 

are, and the dates in which the BACT requirements must be fulfilled. 

b. Added an example of how a fleet calculates its BACT requirements each year to 

section 2449.1(b)(1), so that fleets may more easily understand how to calculate 

the BACT requirements each year. 

c. Added section 2449.1(b)(10) to outline how BACT credit is calculated for turnover 

and VDECS installations. 

d. Added language to section 2449.1(b)(15) to further describe the calculations for 

early VDECS installations.

e. Removed the section that previously described credit given for designating a 

vehicle as permanent low-use. Designating a vehicle as a permanent low-use 

vehicle is considered “turnover” (per section 2449(c)(55)), and is now included in 

the BACT calculations for turnover as described in section 2449.1(b)(10), and not 

as a separate subsection. 

f. Added an example to section 2449.1(b)(16) to further illustrate that a fleet cannot 

use reduced horsepower credit earned from 2006 to 2010 to comply with the 
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2014 compliance requirements. 

g. Renamed section 2449.1(b)(19) to “Credit for 2010 to 2011 Reduced Fleet Hp” 

so it more appropriately describes the content of this section, and to clarify that 

low-use vehicles must also be included in the calculations (as also required by 

section 2449.1(b)(16)). 

h. Renamed section 2449.1(b)(18) to include “Retirement,” and to clarify that 

vehicles replaced under this section must be replaced with a vehicle containing a 

Tier 2 or higher engine. 

Staff would like to note that the amendments listed above are only clarifications to the 

BACT requirements and are not substantive changes to the regulation. 

Summary of Proposed Modifications to the LSI Fleet Regulation

At the December 17, 2010, hearing, staff proposed and the Board approved 

modifications in response to comments received since the Staff Report was published 

on October 28, 2010. These modifications include:

1. Limited Hours of Use Provision

Staff is proposing to add a limited hours of use (LHU) definition that more clearly states 

the LHU parameters. These parameters include basing the LHU determination on prior 

calendar year usage, allowing fleet operators to exclude from their 2011 fleet average 

emission level (FAEL) calculations LSI equipment that was operated no more than 

250 hours in the 2010 calendar year, and allowing fleet operators to exclude from their 

2012 and subsequent year FAEL calculations LSI equipment that was operated no 

more than 199 hours in the prior calendar year. The ARB is proposing the 250 hour 

LHU cap for 2011 calendar year FAEL calculations because many operators had been 

employing the prior LHU provision that allowed exclusion of LSI equipment operated 

250 hours per year or less, on average, over a three year running average. The ARB is 

proposing to reestablish the upper bound of the LHU provisions for 2012 and 

subsequent calendar year calculations at 199 hours inclusive to harmonize with the 

low-use provisions contained in the Off-Road regulation. 

Staff is also proposing to modify section 2775.1(d)(1)(A) to remove the LHU operating 

thresholds now proposed in the LHU definition.

2. Agricultural Crop Preparation Services Definition

Staff is proposing to amend the “Agricultural Crop Preparation Services” definition in 

section 2775(c) to add a description of those agricultural crop preparation services 

associated with forest operations. These services include milling, peeling, producing 

particleboard and medium density fiberboard, and producing woody landscape 

materials. The ARB proposes this change so that the LSI fleet regulation definition for 

agricultural crop preparation services more closely aligns with the similarly titled 

definition in the Off-Road regulation. Staff is not proposing to incorporate the “first 

processing after harvest” component of the Off-Road regulation definition because the 
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existing LSI definition already specifically enumerates which non-forestry industry 

operations are considered post-harvest crop activities. 

3. Forest Operations Definition

Staff is proposing to add a “Forest Operations” definition in section 2775(c) since it is 

referenced in the “Agricultural Operations” definition in the same section.

4. Operator Definition

Staff is proposing to amend the “Operator” definition in section 2775(c) to clarify that 

only service equipment operated by equipment dealers and rental equipment company 

operators is subject to the FAEL standards calculations. Operations or rental 

equipment that is primarily intended for rental, lease, or sale and in the fleet of an 

equipment dealer or rental equipment company operator is not subject to the FAEL 

standards calculations.

5. Other Amendments

In addition to the amendments listed above, staff is also proposing to correct any errors 

that have been found since the December 2010 hearing, make consistent the use of 

certain terms, and to streamline the formatting throughout the regulation. All of these 

changes are intended to improve the clarity and to simplify the regulation by making the 

language more consistent and organized.

The Modified Text Being Made Available and the Public Comment Process

Modified Text Being Made Available: Attachments 3 and 4 to this notice contain

modifications to the text, with proposed amendments, to the Off-Road and LSI fleet 

regulations, respectively. The amendments that were initially proposed to the Board at 

the December 2010 hearing are shown in underline to indicate additions and strikeout to 

indicate deletions. Modifications that are proposed here, subsequent to the December 

2010 hearing, are shown in double underline to indicate additions and double strikeout

to indicate deletions. The symbol “*****” indicates that regulatory language is not shown 

because it was not initially proposed for amendment or is not being modified.

Attachments 1 through 4 are available online at the following ARB website:

http://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2010/offroadlsi10/offroadlsi10.htm. Printed copies may be 

obtained by contacting Mr. Michael Baker, Mobile Source Control Division, at 

916-323-2791.

Comments and Subsequent Action: Written comments on the proposed 

modifications may be submitted by postal mail or electronic mail submittal as follows:

Postal mail: Clerk of the Board, Air Resources Board

1001 I Street, Sacramento, California 95814
13

Electronic submittal: http://www.arb.ca.gov/lispub/comm/bclist.php

Please note that under the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code § 6250 et seq.), 

your written and oral comments, attachments, and associated contact information (e.g., 

your address, phone, email, etc.) become part of the public record and can be released 

to the public upon request. Additionally, this information may become available via 

Google, Yahoo, and any other search engines.

In order to be considered by the Executive Officer, comments must be directed to ARB 

in one of the two forms described above and received by ARB by 5:00 p.m., on the 

deadline date for public comment listed at the beginning of this notice. Only comments 

relating to the above-described modifications to the text of the regulations will be 

considered by the Executive Officer.

If you need this document in an alternate format (i.e., Braille, large print, etc.) or another 

language, please contact the Clerk of the Board at (916) 322-5594 or by facsimile at 

(916) 322-3928 no later than five (5) business days from the release date of this 

notice. TTY/TDD/Speech to Speech users may dial 711 for the California Relay 

Service.

Si necesita este documento en un formato alterno (por decir, sistema Braille, o en

impresión grande) u otro idioma, por favor llame a la oficina del Secretario del Consejo

de Recursos Atmosféricos al (916) 322-5594 o envíe un fax al (916) 322-3928 no 

menos de cinco (5) días laborales a partir de la fecha del lanzamiento de este aviso. 

Para el Servicio Telefónico de California para Personas con Problemas Auditivos, ó de 

teléfonos TDD pueden marcar al 711. 

Attachments (4)

The energy challenge facing California is real. Every Californian needs to take immediate action to 

reduce energy consumption. For a list of simple ways you can reduce demand and cut your energy 

costs, see ARB’s website at www.arb.ca.gov.