California approves new smog testing regime, relying heavily on telematics

The reporting and gathering system is not completely virtual. CARB said it will set up a statewide network of “roadside emissions monitors to screen for high emitting trucks.” The first monitors will be  in the San Joaquin Valley and the state’s South Coast.

CARB also said random testing and inspections will be carried out at a number of locations, including border crossings, weigh stations, at fleets and “randomly selected roadside locations.”

The state currently conducts smoke inspections to measure the amount of particulates coming from a truck’s smokestack,  However, independent owner-operators with a single truck are exempt.  That exemption is gone in the new smog check regulation. 

Although the program will start with a requirement that trucks report their exhaust emission test results twice a year, the program is eventually expected to ramp up to four inspections per year. The twice-yearly testing requirement will start in 2024 after a phase-in period.

The new rules implement SB 210, a state law passed in 2019, that mandated a new comprehensive inspection and maintenance program for heavy-duty trucks to more effectively control emissions. 

Chris Shimoda, vice president of government affairs at the California Trucking Associations, said there are challenges to converting the diagnostic systems to a form that can easily and unobtrusively be sent to the state, unobtrusively..

Shimoda noted that trucks will need a “scanning tool” that would enable easy gathering of the data required by CARB. “The makers of those devices will need to get CARB certified,” Shimoda said of the process, which could take several years.

Last month, the American Trucking Associations and the CTA  jointly asked the state for several considerations. Some of the requests are narrowly tailored, such as the legal rules governing responsibility for rented vehicles, and the calendar for setting the base compliance year.

Others are broader, such as a request for a “soft enforcement period.” Noting that many of the trucks that are subject to the rule only infrequently come to the state, “an enhanced education effort is needed during the initial program rollout.” The letter also asks that enforcement should “initially focus on education, awareness and compliance rather than issuing citations during the initial six months of reporting and testing.”

“CARB is establishing additional testing options as well for fleets that may not want use the telematics option, including the ability to purchase a handheld testing device to perform OBD inspections and/or hire a trained entity to perform the test for them,” a CARB spokeswoman said in an email to FreightWaves.

The goal, she added, is “to provide fleets multiple options so they can choose which testing option makes the most sense for their fleet’s day to day operation.”

When asked what the CTA saw as the biggest problems in the new rule, Shimoda pointed to the jump in reporting requirements from two times per year in the beginning of the program to four times per year by 2026 or 2027. Shimoda said the calendar for that four times per year requirement is somewhat unclear. 

“We would argue that is way over testing, because CARB’s own data shows nine out of every 10 trucks are operating the way they are supposed to,” Shimoda said.

The CARB spokeswoman suggested the number is somewhat higher. “In current field testing, staff has seen about 11-17% of (heavy duty) vehicles operating in (California) with an illuminated malfunction indicator light,” she said, using the more formal term for a “check engine” light that signals problems with the emission system. “Success in regard to this program would be to see this percentage drop substantially and vehicles operating at the emissions levels they were designed to meet.”

And she suggested that the check engine light is often being ignored. The program, she said, “will require the vehicle owner to act upon this notification and get the needed repairs to fix the issue that was identified by the (light).”

Shiimoda said the current smoke opacity testing will need to continue for vehicles built prior to the 2013 models, as those trucks will not have the onboard diagnostics necessary to perform what is permitted under the new rules. 

The fundamental push in the regulation and the greater testing is due to the disproportionate amount of air pollution contributed by the trucking sector in the state. According to CARB, heavy-duty trucks in California account for about 3% of the vehicles on the road but contribute just over 50% of the state’s emissions of nitrous oxide and particulate matter 2.5.  

Kelli Block, a partner with the transportation focused law firm of Scopelitis Garvey Light Hanson & Feary, noted that a truck found not in compliance with the rules can have its California registration revoked. Since that is not a penalty available to penalize trucking companies from out of state, she said out of state companies face citations for noncompliance and that the federal Environmental Protection Agency also can work to enforce compliance. 

Block also questioned whether problems in supply chains would allow the state and its carriers to obtain an adequate supply of the devices needed for trucks to readily access the data in onboard diagnostics, as well as the equipment needed for the roadside monitoring facilities. 

More articles by John Kingston

Legal match over fate of AB5 has new player: US Solicitor General

Truckload carrier Stan Koch will pay $500k in sex discrimination case

Lender’s transportation sector write offs flat, size of impaired loans down