The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has adopted amendments to the Transport Refrigeration Unit (TRU) Airborne Toxic Control Measure (ATCM).
Owners of TRUs and TRU generator sets equipped with model year (MY) 2003 engines should make compliance decisions now and order compliance technology now to ensure compliance with the in-use standards by December 31, 2010. In addition, owners of TRUs and TRU gen-sets equipped with flexibility engines need to register their TRUs in ARB’s Equipment Registration (ARBER) system.
Amendments to the TRU ATCM include:
•All MY 2003 engines will now be allowed to meet either the Ultra-Low-Emission TRU (ULETRU) in-use standard or the less-stringent Low-Emission TRU (LETRU) in-use standard. Compliance with one of these in-use standards is required by Dec 31, 2010. If a TRU owner chooses to comply with LETRU in 2010, he will still be required to meet ULETRU seven years later (by the end of 2017). If an MY 2003 engine owner chooses to comply with ULETRU in 2010, there will be no in-use compliance deadline in 2017.
ULETRU can be met by retrofitting with a Level 3-verified diesel emissions control strategy (VDECS), which reduces particulate matter (PM) emissions by at least 85%. LETRU can be met by retrofitting with a Level 2 VDECS, which reduces PM emissions by at least 50%. Compliance may also be maintained by repowering the unit with the cleanest engine that will fit and perform in the unit, but compliance with ULETRU is required seven years after the engine model year or effective model year (if the replacement engine doesn’t meet a current emissions standard).
Level 2 and Level 3 VDECS that may be used to comply with the TRU ATCM’s in-use standards are listed at www.arb.ca.gov/diesel/tru.htm in the bottom section. Owners of TRUs and TRU gen-sets equipped with MY 2003 engines need to order compliance technology now.
•Flexibility engines are engines manufactured to meet a less-stringent emissions standard than was in effect at the time of manufacture. When an engine is manufactured to meet a less-stringent prior-tier emissions standard than is currently in effect, the effective model year is the last year that the prior-tier standard was in effect.
Flexibility engines installed before 2011 will now use the engine’s manufacture year as the basis for determining in-use requirements and deadlines. This will allow current owners of TRUs seven years of operational life after the engine manufacture year. If owners are unsure whether they have a flexibility engine, they should contact the TRU manufacturer. These owners need to register units equipped with flexibility engines in ARBER so compliance date adjustments can be made by ARB for flexibility engines.
Such engines installed in the future will have a shorter operational life, based on the effective model year. Compliance with the ULETRU in-use standard will be required seven years after the effective model year of flexibility engines installed in 2011 and thereafter.
The adopted regulatory language for these amendments is at www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2010/tru2010/tru2010.htm.
Contact the TRU Help Line at 1-888-878-2826 or call 916-445-5516 with any questions.
