The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has announced that the public workshop to discuss proposed first-time regulations for on-board diagnostics (OBD) for heavy trucks has been rescheduled
for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 16, in El Monte, Calif.
The workshop, which was originally scheduled for mid-August, will be held in the Air Resources Board Annex IV Auditorium at 9520 Telstar Ave.
The daylong session will review the proposed regulatory language for OBD requirements developed by the CARB staff for heavy duty vehicles and engines. The regulations are scheduled to be presented to the board in November.
The CARB staff has requested comments from the industry in its effort to "refine the proposed requirements and implementation schedules in a manner that will allow for efficient and effective use of developmental resources." There are currently no OBD requirements for heavy trucks.
Members who want to make a formal presentation at the workshop should contact Michael McCarthy, manager of the Advanced Engineering Section, at (626) 575-6615 or via e-mail at mmccarth@arb.ca.gov.
The 99-page draft preliminary staff report is available at http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/obdprog/hdobdreg.htm.
Since it is likely that the final California heavy truck OBD regulations will set the pattern for such regulations issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and by other states, HDMA encourages members to share their concerns about the regulations with association staff.
For more information, contact Jim Conner (jconner@hdma.org) or Brent Hazelett (bhazelett@mema.org) with your comments.
CARB has also released a list of emission control devices approved for use on solid waste collection vehicles. The list includes several products from HDMA member the Donaldson Company.
The complete list may be obtained at http://www.arb.ca.gov/diesel/verdev/verdev.htm.