State of California

AIR RESOURCES BOARD

Resolution 05-15

February 24, 2005

Agenda Item No.: 05-2-2

WHEREAS, sections 39600 and 39601 of the Health and Safety Code authorize the Air

Resources Board (the "Board") to adopt standards, rules, and regulations and to do

such acts as may be necessary for the proper execution of the powers and duties

granted to and imposed upon the Board by law;

WHEREAS, in section 43000 of the Health and Safety Code, the Legislature has

declared that the emission of air pollutants from motor vehicles is the primary cause of

air pollution in many parts of the state and, in sections 39002 and 39003 of the Health

and Safety Code, has charged the Board with the responsibility of systematically

addressing the serious air pollution problem caused by motor vehicles;

WHEREAS, sections 43013, 43101, and 43104 of the Health and Safety Code

authorize the Board to adopt motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance

standards, and test procedures which it finds to be necessary, cost-effective, and

technologically feasible;

WHEREAS, section 43018 of the Health and Safety Code directs the Board to endeavor

to achieve the maximum degree of emission reductions possible from motor vehicle

sources to accomplish the attainment of state ambient air quality standards by the

earliest practicable date;

WHEREAS, section 43806 of the Health and Safety Code directs the Board to adopt

emission standards and procedures applicable to new engines used in publicly owned

and privately owned public transit buses;

WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has promulgated

emission standards and programs to reduce emissions from urban transit buses, and

those standards and programs can be found in title 40 of the Code of Federal

Regulations, parts 85 and 86;

WHEREAS, section 43701(b) of the Health and Safety Code requires the Board to

adopt regulations that require heavy-duty diesel vehicles to utilize emission control

equipment and alternative fuels to reduce emissions to the greatest extent feasible;

WHEREAS, section 39667 of the Health and Safety Code directs the Board to achieve

the maximum possible reduction in public exposure to toxic air contaminants by

establishing emission standards for vehicular sources, including new and in-use motor

vehicles and fuels;
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WHEREAS, on August 27, 1998, following extensive scientific review and public

hearings, and consistent with the conclusions of the Scientific Review Panel and the

Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the Board formally identified

particulate matter (PM) emissions from diesel-fueled engines as a toxic air contaminant

and on September 28, 2000, approved a plan to reduce risk from diesel pollution by

reducing harmful PM emissions from diesel engines;

WHEREAS, the Board, through the adoption of Resolution 98-49 on

September 24, 1998, called on state, local, and federal agencies to join together to

“clean the fleet,” supported immediate and continuing efforts to replace diesel-fueled

school and public urban transit buses with low-emission alternative-fuel buses, including

the provision of necessary infrastructure and technical training, and directed the staff to

distribute this resolution to multiple affected parties;

WHEREAS, at a public hearing on February 24, 2000, the Board adopted Resolution

00-2 to achieve near-term and long-term emission reductions from urban transit buses

through a multifaceted fleet rule designed to reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen

(NOx) and diesel PM by mandating a lower fleet average of NOx emissions; by

requiring engines to be retrofitted with devices to reduce diesel PM emissions by at

least 85 percent; by requiring engine manufacturers to significantly reduce the allowable

emissions from certified bus engines; by requiring that transit agencies switch to low

sulfur (less than 15 parts per million) diesel fuel; and by requiring transit agencies to

purchase specified percentages of zero emission buses;

WHEREAS, the Board, through Resolution 00-2, directed the Executive Officer to work

with transit agencies during implementation of the regulations, including provisions of

the fleet rule, and to report to the Board regularly on transit agencies’ progress in

implementing the regulations;

WHEREAS, at a public meeting on September 20, 2001, the Board adopted Resolution

01-31 directing the Executive Officer to continue development of a test procedure for

the evaluation of hybrid electric bus emissions and to report back to the Board by late

2002 on progress in this effort;

WHEREAS, at a public hearing on October 24, 2002, the Board adopted Resolution 02-

30 revising the diesel PM reduction program to ensure that every transit agency fleet

will have significantly lower in-use diesel PM emissions by 2007 or 2009, depending on

fuel path; removing the prohibition for transit agencies on the diesel path from

purchasing alternative-fueled engines with NOx emissions in excess of 0.5 grams per

brake-horsepower hour (g/bhp-hr) to encourage the use of alternative fuel; adopting

new interim certification procedures for hybrid-electric vehicles in the urban bus and

heavy-duty vehicle classes to account for the emission benefits of the hybrid-electric

bus technology; and making other changes as necessary to ensure emission reductions

from urban buses operated by transit agencies;
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WHEREAS, at a public hearing on June 24, 2004, the Board adopted Resolution 04-19

revising the zero emission bus demonstration project requirements and timetable; and

adding provisions that would allow manufacturers to sell diesel hybrid-electric buses

certified to a 2004-2006 model year exhaust emission standard of 1.8 g/bhp-hr NOx and

0.01 g/bhp-hr PM and that would allow transit agencies on the diesel path to purchase

diesel hybrid electric buses so long as they satisfy requirements to reduce NOx

emissions from their other buses;

WHEREAS, the California Environmental Quality Act and Board regulations require that

no project which may have significant adverse environmental impacts be adopted as

originally proposed if feasible alternatives or mitigation measures are available to

reduce or eliminate such impacts;

WHEREAS, the Board has considered the impact of this proposed regulatory action on

the economy of the state;

WHEREAS, the ARB staff conducted public workshops on April 3, 2003; December 2

and 3, 2003; May 17 and 18, 2004; and October 7 and 8, 2004; as well as public

outreach meetings and several focused stakeholder meetings throughout the

rulemaking process, in order to include the public and affected stakeholders in the

process for regulatory development;

WHEREAS, a staff report and draft regulatory language were published and made

available to the public for at least 45 days prior to this Board hearing;

WHEREAS, a public hearing and other administrative proceedings have been held in

accordance with the provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with section 11340), Part 1,

Division 3, Title 2 of the Government Code;

WHEREAS, based on the information in the public record, including the staff report and

testimony provided at the hearing, the Board finds that:

1. Diesel heavy-duty vehicles operated by transit agencies, on a per vehicle basis,

contribute relatively high emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate

matter (PM) and operate in the more heavily congested areas where air quality is

critical and direct exposure to diesel particulates occurs for large numbers of

people;

2. Excessive diesel PM emissions are a significant source of toxic air contaminants,

comprising approximately 70 percent of all toxic air contaminant emissions in

California;

3. There are approximately 4,000 heavy-duty vehicles operated by transit agencies

in California that are not currently regulated under the existing Fleet Rule for

Transit Agencies which will be included in that regulation by this action;
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4. Without these regulation amendments, diesel PM emissions from these transit

fleet vehicles operated by transit agencies are expected to be 133 pounds per

day in 2010 and 77 pounds per day in 2020; and NOx emissions are expected to

be 3.47 tons per day in 2010 and 0.81 tons per day in 2020.

5. As a result of these regulation amendments, diesel PM emissions from these

transit fleet vehicles operated by transit agencies are expected to decrease by 43

pounds per day in 2010 and 47 pounds per day in 2020; and NOx emissions are

expected to decrease by 380 pounds per day in 2010 and 620 pounds per day in

2020.

6. The adoption of this proposed measure would achieve up to 43 percent reduction

in diesel PM emissions and 29 percent reduction in NOx emissions from transit

fleet vehicles in 2010, and up to 81 percent reduction in diesel PM emissions and

83 percent reduction in NOx emissions in 2020, relative to the 2000 baseline;

which will help California achieve the goals adopted in 2000 to reduce diesel PM

emissions;

7. Other pollutants that will be reduced as a result of this regulation include 80

pounds per day of hydrocarbon (HC) emissions and 80 pounds per day of carbon

monoxide (CO) in 2010; and 140 pounds per day of HC emissions and 100

pounds per day of CO in 2020;

8. This rule is a cost-effective mechanism of preventing premature deaths: the

reduction in ambient NOx and PM levels resulting from this rule will prevent an

estimated 11 premature deaths from 2005 through 2020, at a cost per premature

death prevented of $1.5 to $2 million, as compared to the U.S. EPA’s present

value of avoiding one death at $4 to $6 million;

9. The estimated costs of the proposed regulatory amendments are within the

range of recently adopted regulations at $0.90 to $1.90 per pound of NOx and

$42 to $88 per pound for PM; and

10. No alternative considered would be more effective, or equally effective and less

costly, in achieving the regulatory objectives sought than the proposed

amendments.

WHEREAS, pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act

and the Board’s regulations, the Board further finds that the amendments will achieve

reductions of approximately 620 pounds per day of oxides of nitrogen, 47 pounds per

day of diesel PM, 140 pounds per day of hydrocarbon and 100 pounds per day of

carbon monoxide emissions in 2020, thereby providing an air quality benefit.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board hereby approves the

amendments to sections 1956.1, 1956.2, 1956.3, 1956.4, 2020, and 2021, and the
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adoption of sections 2023, 2023.1, 2023.2, 2023.3, and 2023.4, title 13, California Code

of Regulations, as set forth in Attachment A hereto.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board directs the Executive Officer to evaluate

whether modifications to the approved amendments and new regulations are

appropriate with respect to (1) the flexibility accorded to the Executive Officer to provide

exemptions in the case of financial hardship experienced by transit agencies,

particularly those with 30 or more urban buses and transit fleet vehicles, and (2) the

impact under the regulations from a transit agency’s decision to increase the size of its

cutaways to provide better service to its customers.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, if the Executive Officer determines that

modifications to the regulations in the two areas listed above are not appropriate, she is

directed to adopt the regulatory text set forth in Attachment A hereto.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, if the Executive Officer determines that

modifications to the regulations in one or both of the two areas listed above are

appropriate, the Executive Officer is directed to incorporate the modifications into the

approved regulatory text, with such other conforming modifications as may be

appropriate, and then to make the modified regulatory language available for

supplemental public comment for a period of 15 days or more; after considering any

written comments regarding the modified text that are submitted during this period, the

Executive Officer shall adopt the modified regulatory text after making further

modifications as may be appropriate in light of the comments received, or present the

regulations to the Board for further consideration if she determines that this is

warranted.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Officer is directed to work with

interested parties on other issues raised by commenters in this rulemaking, and to

report back to the Board on any additional regulatory amendments she deems would be

appropriate for a future rulemaking.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board finds that the California emission

standards and test procedures as approved herein will not cause the California

requirements to be inconsistent with section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act and raise no

new issues affecting previous waiver determinations of the Administrator of the

Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to section 209(b) of the Clean Air Act.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Officer shall, upon adoption, forward

the amended regulations to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with a request

either for a waiver of federal preemption pursuant to section 209(b) of the Clean Air Act,

or a confirmation that the amendments are within the scope of previous waivers.

I hereby certify that the above is a true

and correct copy of Resolution 05-15, as

adopted by the Air Resources Board.

_______________________________

Lori Andreoni, Clerk of the Board
Resolution 05-15

February 24, 2005

Identification of Attachment to the Resolution

Attachment A: Proposed Amendments to the Fleet Rule for Transit Agencies, and

New Requirements for Transit Fleet Vehicles as included in the Initial

Statement of Reasons released January 7, 2005.