SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT 

Draft Staff Report 

Proposed Amended Rule 2449 - Control of Oxides of Nitrogen 

Emissions from Off-Road Diesel Vehicles 

May 2014 

Deputy Executive Officer 

Planning, Rule Development, and Area Sources 

Elaine Chang, DrPH 

Assistant Deputy Executive Officer 

Mobile Source Division 

Science and Technology Advancement 

Henry Hogo 

Planning and Rules Manager 

Mobile Source Division 

Science and Technology Advancement 

Randall Pasek, Ph.D. 

AUTHORS: 

Mobile Source Division. Science and Technology Advancement 

Adewale Oshinuga - Program Supervisor 

Richard Carlson -Air Quality Specialist 

REVIEWED BY: 

General Counsel 

Barbara Baird -Chief Deputy Counsel 
SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT 

GOVERNING BOARD 

Chairman: 

Vice Chairman: 

MEMBERS: 

WILLIAM A. BURKE, Ed.D. 

Speaker of the Assembly Appointee 

DENNIS YATES 

Mayor, City of Chino 

Cities Representative, San Bernardino County 

MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH 

Supervisor, Fifth District 

Los Angeles County Representative 

BEN BENOIT 

Mayor Pro Tern, City of Wildomar 

Cities Representative, Riverside County 

JOHN J. BENOIT 

Supervisor, Fourth District 

Riverside County 

JOE BUSCAINO 

Councilmember, 15th District 

City of Los Angeles 

MICHAEL A. CACCIOTTI 

Councilmember, City of South Pasadena 

Cities Representative, Los Angeles County, Eastern Region 

JOSIE GONZALES 

Supervisor, Fifth District 

San Bernardino County Representative 

JOSEPH K. L YOU, Ph.D. 

Governor's Appointee 

JUDITH MITCHELL 

Mayor, City of Rolling Hills Estates 

Cities Representative, Los Angeles County, Western Region 

SHAWN NELSON 

Supervisor, Fourth District 

Orange County Representative 

DR. CLARK E. PARKER, SR. 

Senate Rules Committee Appointee 

MIGUEL PULIDO 

Mayor, City of Santa Ana 

Cities Representative, Orange County 

EXECUTIVE OFFICER: 

BARRY R. WALLERSTEIN, D.Env. 
Draft Staff Report Proposed Amended Rule 2449 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...............................................................................................•.... 1 

INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................... 1 

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED AMENDED RULE 2449 ..................................................... 1 

CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA)....................................... 2 

SOCIOECONOMIC ASSESSMENT................................................................................... 2 

DRAFT FINDINGS REQUIRED BY THE CALIFORNIA HEALTH AND SAFETY 

CODE SECTION 40727 ......................................................................................................... 2 

Requirements to Make Findings.............................................................................................. 2 

Necessity.................................................................................................................................. 2 

Authority.................................................................................................................................. 2 

Clarity...................................................................................................................................... 3 

Consistency.............................................................................................................................. 3 

Reference ... . . . . . . .. . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . ...... . . . . .. . . . . . . . . ... . . .. .. . .. . . ..... . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . ... . . . . .. . .. . 3 

SCAQMD SR2449- i April2014 
Draft Staff Report Proposed Amended Rule 2449 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD or District) is proposing an 

administrative amendment to Rule 2449 - Control of Oxides of Nitrogen Emissions from 

Off-Road Diesel Vehicles, to revise the reference from Section 2449.3 to Section 2449.2, 

Title 13 of the California Code of Regulation. As the provisions referred to in the proposed 

amendment are already in effect, they represent no change to existing requirements on 

affected fleets. 

INTRODUCTION 

Off-road diesel vehicles collectively represent one of the largest sources of NOx and 

significantly contributed to PM2.5 and ozone air quality in the South Coast Air Basin. In July 

2007, CARB adopted the "In-Use Off-road Diesel Vehicle" regulation to reduce these 

emissions statewide by requiring fleets to meet increasingly stringent PM and NOx fleet 

average targets or annual turnover requirements. As part of the adoption, CARB added 

provisions to the State Regulation to include the Surplus Off-Road Opt-In for NOx (SOON) 

provisions contained in Section 2449.3, Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations 

(CCR), which allow air district to opt-in to the SOON program to achieve additional NOx 

reductions from off-road diesel vehicles. Section 2449.3 was finalized by CARB as part of 

the State Regulation (Title 13, CCR, Section 2449 et. seq.) and submitted to the California 

Office of Administrative Law (OAL) for final approval on April4, 2008. OAL approved the 

rulemaking and filed it with the Secretary of State on May 16, 2008. The regulation became 

effective on June 15, 2008. 

The SOON provisions apply to affected fleets of off-road diesel vehicles as described in 

Section 2449.3(b). Once an air district has opted-in to the program, the SOON provisions 

require the affected fleets to submit an application for funding upon the District's issuance of 

a solicitation for applications for funding. On May 2, 2008, the Board opted-in to the SOON 

program and adopted Rule 2449 by referencing the SOON provisions of the CARB 

Regulation (Title 13, CCR, Section 2449.3). 

Rule 2449 was submitted to CARB on May 23, 2008 for approval. CARB approved 

Rule 2449 on July 2, 2008 and forwarded Rule 2449 on to U.S. EPA as a revision to 

the State Implementation Plan. In December 2011, prior to U.S. EPA review of Rule 

2449, CARB amended the "In-Use Off-Road Diesel Vehicle" Regulation and removed 

Section 2449.2, Title 13 of the CCR, and renumbered the SOON Provision Section 2449.3 

to Section 2449.2. CARB submitted the amended regulation on March 1, 2012 to U.S. EPA 

for authorization to implement the Regulation under hould Section 209(e) of the Clean Air 

Act. The U.S. EPA issued a "Notice of Decision" on September 30, 2013 granting 

CARB's request for authorization of the Regulation. (78FR58090 et. seq.). As part of 

their review of the approvability of Rule 2449, U.S. EPA indicated that Rule 2449 should 

be amended to reference the appropriate section of the State Regulation. 

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED AMENDED RULE 2449 

Proposed Amended Rule (PAR) 2449 would revise the reference to the SOON provisions 

provided in the In-Use Off-Road Diesel Vehicle Regulation (Title 13, CCR, 2449 et. seq.) 

SCAQMD SR2449 -1 May 2014 
Draft Staff Report Proposed Amended Rule 2449 

from Section 2449.3 to Section 2449.2. PAR 2449 is provided as Attachment A to this 

Report. 

CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) 

The SCAQMD has reviewed the proposed project pursuant to the CEQA Guidelines § 15002 

(k)(l), the first step of a three-step process for deciding which document to prepare for a 

project subject to CEQA. Staff is proposing an administrative amendment to SCAQMD Rule 

2449 to revise the reference from Section 2449.3 to Section 2449.2 of Title 13 of the 

California Code of Regulation. Because the SCAQMD exercises no discretion with regard to 

the proposed project, it is considered to be ministerially exempt. Therefore, the SCAQMD 

has determined the proposed amendments are statutorily exempt from CEQA pursuant to 

CEQA Guidelines §15268- Ministerial Projects. As a result, no significant adverse impacts 

on the environment are expected from the proposed project. Since it can be seen with 

certainty that the proposed project has no potential to adversely impact air quality or any 

other environmental area, it is exempt from CEQA pursuant to state CEQA Guidelines 

§1506l(b)(3)- Review for Exemption. If approved, the Notice of Exemption will be filed 

with the county clerks of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties 

immediately following action on the proposed project. 

SOCIOECONOMIC ASSESSMENT 

The proposed amendments to Rule 2449 are administrative in nature and do not have 

any socioeconomic impacts. 

DRAFT FINDINGS REQUIRED BY THE CALIFORNIA HEALTH AND 

SAFETY CODE SECTION 40727 

Requirements to Make Findings 

California Health and Safety Code Section 40727 requires that prior to adopting, amending 

or repealing a rule or regulation, the District Governing Board shall make findings of 

necessity, authority, clarity, consistency, non-duplication, and reference based on relevant 

information presented at the public hearing and in the staff report. The following provides a 

summary of the draft findings. 

Necessity 

A need exists to adopt Proposed Amended Rule 2449 - Control of Oxides of Nitrogen 

Emissions from Off-Road Diesel Vehicles, to ensure that the proposed amendment addresses 

an approvability issue raised by U.S. EPA's relating to the appropriate reference of Rule 

2449 to State Regulation (Title 13, CCR, Section 2449.2). 

Authority 

The District Governing Board obtains its authority to adopt, amend, or repeal rules and 

regulations from Health and Safety Code §§ 40000, 40001, 40440, 40441, 40447.5, 40463, 

40702, 40725 through 40728, and 40910 through 40920.5, inclusive. 

SCAQMD SR2449- 2 May 2014 
Draft Staff Report Proposed Amended Rule 2449 

Clarity 

Proposed Amended Rule 2449 - Control of Oxides of Nitrogen Emissions from Off-Road 

Diesel Vehicles is written and displayed so that the meaning can be easily understood by 

persons directly affected by it. 

Consistency 

Proposed Amended Rule 2449 - Control of Oxides of Nitrogen Emissions from Off-Road 

Diesel Vehicles is in harmony with and not in conflict with or contradictory to, existing 

statutes, court decisions, or state or federal regulations. 

Reference 

By adopting Proposed Amended Rule 2449- Control of Oxides ofNitrogen Emissions from 

Off-Road Diesel Vehicles, the District Governing Board will be implementing, interpreting 

or making specific the provisions of the California Health and Safety Code Sections 40000 

and 40001 (rules to achieve and maintain ambient air quality standards) and 40440(a) (rules 

to implement the AQMP). 

SCAQMD SR2449-3 May 2014 
APPENDIX A 

PROPOSED AMENDED RULE 2449 
(Adopted May 2, 2008) 

(PAR 2449 April2014) 

Proposed Amended Rule 2449. Control of Oxides ofNitrogen Emissions from Off-Road 

Diesel Vehicles 

The provisions of Article 4.8, Chapter 9, Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR), 

Section 2449.3, in effect June 15, 2008, were adopted in full by the South Coast Air Quality 

Management District on May 2, 2008 through the "opt-in" provision provided in the regulation 

and were made part of the Rules and Regulations of the South Coast Air Quality Management 

District. 

Article 4.8, Chapter 9, Title 13 of the CCR, Section 2449.3 was amended in December 14, 2011 

by the California Air Resources Board and renumbered to section 2449.2. Effective December 

14,2011 Section 2449.2 shall apply to the owner of any off-road diesel vehicle as described. 

The provisions of this Regulation apply to the owner of any off-road diesel vehicle as described 

in Section 2449.~~(b) operating in the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Upon the 

District's issuance of a solicitation for applications for funding, fleet owners subject to Section 

2449 . ....;~ shall submit applications for funding, in accordance with the Rule 2449 Administrative 

Guidelines developed to implement Section 2449 . ....;~. 

Title 13, 

Chapter 9 

Section 2449.3 

Section 2449.2 

Motor Vehicles- Off-Road Vehicles and Engines Pollution Control Devices 

Surplus Off-Road Opt-In for NOx (SOON) Program 

(13 CCR 2449.3, June 15, 2008) (SCAQMD Adopted May 2, 2008) 

Surplus Off-Road Opt-In for NOx (SOON) Program 

(13 CCR 2449.2, December 14, 2011) (SCAQMD Amended xxx) 

PAR2449-1