ARA Updates Rental Companies on CARB Regulations

July 3, 2007 • The American Rental Association (ARA) and the ARA of California recently held a workshop on upcoming changes in California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations. Two three-hour workshops were given last week in San Diego and Livermore, Calif., presented by Michael Graboski, ARA consulting engineer, and John McClelland, ARA vice president of government affairs.  

 

The workshops served to prepare companies for the upcoming new regulations and changes to existing regulations so that rental companies and fleet owners know how to comply.

 

One key regulation change that will be decided in July would effect how companies in California comply with CARB standards. The rule, applicable to mobile off-road in-use diesel engines 25 hp and larger, would allow fleet operators to meet the emissions standards by averaging the emissions of the entire fleet, instead of having each piece of equipment meet a specific requirement. This would eliminate Tier limitations, and fleets would comply as long as they met averaging requirements. The new regulations would also call for fleet owners to report to the Air Resources Board on an annual basis to prove the fleets meet the requirements. If fleets fail to meet requirements set forth, owners are required to take necessary steps to update their fleets, which includes both retrofitting equipment and replacing older equipment with newer equipment.

 

Other issues discussed were regulations that affect portable engine 50 hp and larger, such as compressors and generators. These regulations require either state registration of equipment or permits in each air district the engine operates in California. The Portable Equipment Registration Program (PERP) also requires extensive record keeping and annual reports.

 

Chris Fix, president of Hawkeye Equipment Rentals, said that aerial rental companies like his were worried that the regulations for mobile off-road equipment would end up similar to the portable equipment regulations and reporting. “I think the particulate averaging and annual reporting at the state level make this regulation far less intrusive than the requirements for ‘portable' equipment,” he said. Because the regulations force companies to rotate older equipment out of the fleet as new is added, Fix said companies shouldn't have difficulty staying compliant now that they can use PM and annual reporting.