State of California

AIR RESOURCES BOARD

Resolution 04-19

June 24, 2004

Agenda Item No.: 04-6-4

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 reduction 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, part 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
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by establishing emission standards for vehicular sources, including new and in-use

motor vehicles and fuels;

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; allowing transit agencies in the South Coast Air Quality

Management District (SCAQMD) to change from the diesel fuel path to the

alternative fuel path to align with SCAQMD rules; 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-horse-power hour (g/bhp-hr) to

encourage the use of alternative fuel; adding a new provision allowing a transit
Resolution 04-19 -3-

agency with 20 or fewer buses to request an implementation delay from the

Executive Officer based on financial hardship; modifying the definitions to clarify the

intent and facilitate implementation of the transit bus regulation; allowing heavy-duty

pilot ignition engines operating on natural gas and using a small quantity of diesel

fuel for ignition to be certified at or below California’s standards for alternative fuel

engines; repealing the “California Certification Procedures for PM Retrofit Devices

for On-Road Heavy-Duty Vehicles” and replacing them with “Diesel Emission Control

Strategy Verification Procedure, Warranty and In-Use Compliance Requirements for

On-Road, Off-Road, and Stationary Diesel-Fueled Vehicles and Equipment” to

ensure heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers follow the same procedures; and adding

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;

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 December 2 and 3, 2004,

and March 29 and 30, 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. On January 1, 2004, the California diesel urban bus engine exhaust emission

standard dropped to 0.5 g/bhp-hr NOx and no diesel engine manufacturer has

certified or plans to certify an engine to this standard; thus no diesel hybridelectric system manufacturer can certify its product for California.

2. Hybrid-electric buses are technologically able to achieve lower emissions and

better fuel economy than an equivalently-sized diesel bus because the hybridelectric propulsion system combines two motive power sources, an energy
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storage system such as a battery or ultracapacitor, and an internal

combustion engine, turbine, or fuel cell functioning as an auxiliary power unit.

3. Since adoption of the interim certification procedure for hybrid electric

vehicles in the urban bus and heavy-duty vehicle classes in October 2002,

only one 2004 model year hybrid-electric bus has been California-certified for

sale and purchase and it is powered by gasoline and certified to the 0.6

g/bhp-hr NOx+NMHC alternative-fuel urban bus emission standard.

4. Transit agencies on the diesel path have indicated a need and desire to

purchase diesel hybrid-electric urban buses in order to retire their oldest, dirty

diesel buses without having to add a new fuel and the accompanying

infrastructure to their fleets.

5. A 2004-2006 exhaust emission standard of 1.8 g/bhp-hr NOx and 0.01 g/bhphr PM for diesel hybrid-electric buses (HEBs) will maintain the Board’s

commitment to bring innovative technology at the lowest technically feasible

emission standard to California’s marketplace.

6. Defining a “hybrid-electric bus” will help clarify the Board’s intent and will

facilitate the implementation of the fleet rule for transit agencies.

7. A procedure to offset higher NOx emissions that will result from the purchase

and operation of diesel HEBs that meet a less stringent NOx exhaust

emission standard is necessary in order to maintain the NOx reductions from

the fleet rule for transit agencies.

8. A procedure whereby the Executive Officer can consider and approve transit

agency proposal for actions to offset the emission increases that would result

from operating diesel HEBs is necessary and appropriate.

9. In the original rulemaking of the zero-emission bus requirements, the Board

anticipated that fuel cells would be developed and deployed in transit buses

initially; however, light duty vehicle applications have been the focus of fuel

cell providers, resulting in heavy-duty fuel cells that are both more expensive

and behind schedule.

10. Transit agencies have been diligent in attempting to comply with the original

fuel cell bus demonstration project requirements and timetable; however, the

projects are behind schedule, and the transit agencies will not have the

number of concurrent, in-use fuel cell buses in revenue service in time to

meet the regulatory deadline.

11. A revised start date and a reduction in the number of buses required for the

Zero-emission Bus Demonstration Project are necessary in order to reflect
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the cost and expected availability of the advanced technology required for the

delivery of fuel-cell buses.

12. 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 0.3 tons per day of oxides of nitrogen and 10

lbs per day of diesel PM emission in 2006, thereby providing an air quality benefit.

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

amendments to sections 1956.1, 1956.2, 1956.3, and 1956.4, title 13, California

Code of Regulations, as set forth in Attachment A hereto.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board hereby determines that the regulations

approved herein will not cause California motor vehicle emission standards, in the

aggregate, to be less protective of public health and welfare than applicable federal

standards.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board hereby finds that separate California

emission standards and test procedures are necessary to meet compelling and

extraordinary conditions.

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.

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.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board directs staff to return by mid -2005 with

a recommendation regarding the need for change to the 2007 urban bus engine

exhaust standards.

I hereby certify that the above is a true

and correct copy of Resolution 04-19, as

adopted by the Air Resources Board.

____________________________

Lori Andreoni, Clerk of the Board
Resolution 04-19

June 24, 2004

Identification of Attachment to the Resolution

Attachment A: Proposed Amendments to the Exhaust Emission Standards and

Test Procedures – 1985 and Subsequent Model Year Heavy-duty

Urban Bus Engines and Vehicles, the Fleet Rule for Transit

Agencies, and Zero-emission Bus Requirements, as set forth in

Appendix A to the Staff Report (released May 7, 2004).