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California Off-Road Diesel Emissions Rule “Delay” May Do More Damage

  • Sophia Venetos
  • February 15, 2010

The California Air Resources Board recently decided to “delay” enforcements of its off-road diesel emissions rule and hold a public meeting on March 11. According to the California Air Resources Board’s announcement of its response, “ARB will issue an advisory notifying all stakeholders subject to the regulation that ARB will take no enforcement action regarding compliance with the regulation’s emission standards or other emission related requirements before ARB receives authorization from the U.S. EPA.”

This announcement, as well as the California Air Resources Board’s formal response to the AGC petition, prompted a statement from Mike Kennedy, general counsel of the Associated General Contractors of America, in which he voiced his concerns.

"We appreciate the opportunity to publicly air our concerns and expect Board officials will ultimately agree to significant changes to their off-road diesel rule. However, yesterday's decision to 'delay' enforcement of the rule until a federal waiver is issued is as legally meaningless as it is economically damaging. By committing to begin enforcement as soon as the federal government allows, the Board is only acknowledging legal reality, not providing relief,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said that California’s own inventory data makes clear that off-road equipment operators will be well under the state's aggressive diesel emissions limits for years to come without this rule. He added that the decision to enforce the rule as soon as legally possible sends a frightening message to an already fraught construction industry that has lost over 116,000 jobs statewide in 2009.

"Despite their acknowledgment that this rule will cripple the state's construction community, California officials seem more interested in providing meaningless gestures than they are in providing any relief from a rule whose only outcome will be to kill jobs,” Kennedy said.

The AGC intends to ask the members of the California Air Resources Board, which oversees the agency's activities, to immediately provide relief for thousands of construction workers from this unnecessary rule, Kennedy said.

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