CARB to Look at More Flexible Truck & Bus Rule; Rewriting Challenged Research Report

The California Air Resources Board Wednesday directed its staff to come back in April with a new provision that would give truck fleets more flexibility in cleaning up their diesel emissions under the state's Truck and Bus Rule

that was adopted last December, in light of the recession's effect on the industry.

At the Wednesday CARB meeting, staff made a presentation on the impact of the recession on trucking emissions, saying overall trucking activity was down 10 to 18 percent. According to Leo Kay, CARB spokesman, the agency has seen reductions in emissions that they hadn't counted on before passing the Statewide Truck and Bus rule, especially as fleets have more trucks parked in the lot.

The staff also said national new truck sales are at their lowest levels in 25 years, and that there's been no growth in California registered trucks since 2007, meaning there are fewer clean trucks on the road than expected.

Recession Effects

The staff's report concluded that the recession was not an effective emission control strategy and that the rule was still needed to meet the state implementation plan. However, the board listened to public comments from industry stakeholders, both on the trucking side, which and on the public health advocates side, which encouraged the board to stay the course.

If the board is convinced the issue needs to be addressed further after a public hearing period, they will have to open a regulatory item on a future meeting agenda, Kay says. Possible alternatives, Kay said, include a two-year deferral for mid-sized fleets, a two-year deferral for 10 trucks in any size fleet or deferring all first year requirements.

The Truck and Bus Rule requires most truck owners to install diesel particulate filters on their
rigs by Jan. 1, 2011, with nearly all vehicles upgraded by 2014. The regulation is estimated to prevent 9,400 premature deaths over its lifetime.

Credentials Controversy

Separately, the board addressed the issue of Hien T. Tran, the lead scientist and coordinator of the study used to justify the new rules. Tran had lied about holding a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of California Davis, but his Ph.D. was the mail-order version. Senior air board officials knew about it before the vote, never revealing it to the public. According to Kay, Tran was disciplined, bumped down two pay grades and the board plans no further action against him.

CARB members Ron Roberts and Dr. John Telles have taken to the media to clear the air with the public and to request that the board suspend the truck rule, which would require exhaust retrofits and engine upgrades. Kay says the two men reiterated their comments. CARB refused to second a motion by Telles, who wanted to repeal the diesel rule after learning of a Tran's misconduct. According to Kay, the rule could not be suspended at this meeting because of public notice requirements.

However, the Board directed staff to withdraw and redo the health report that carried Hien Tran's name. The implementation of the rule will continue to be carried out during this period. Kay described Tran as a bit player, who primarily compiled data, and emphasized that the science is still the same, regardless of the controversy over Tran's credentials.

Moving Forward

"With today's set of actions, we confidently set out to revalidate the science supporting our rules and set up a process to allow for more flexibility for small businesses in the regulation given the down economy," CARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols said. "We take the employee misconduct very seriously but it should not affect an extremely important public health measure that has been extensively reviewed throughout the scientific community. We have tightened up our procedures to ensure an incident like this never happens again."

Kay said most of the trucking representatives at the meeting were more concerned about the costs to their trucking operations than about the Tran controversy. Most testifying against the rule were asking to extend effective date because of the economy.

During the public comment period at the meeting, Tim Fortier, president of bulk carrier Commercial Transfer in Fresno, Calif., spoke out against the board's cover-up of Tran's credentials. "Your statistics have a stated agenda," he said. "Your credibility has just been destroyed with this episode with this Tran. That's deplorable. But what's more deplorable is that your own staff and several other members of the board hid it from the other members.

"Something as important to this economy and this state you have omitted."