The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced $11 million in compliance assistance funding that will partly pay for more than 1,200 retrofits and more than 100 new trucks serving the Port of Oakland. This is to aid compliance with the state’s Port Drayage Rule, which took effect Jan 1, 2010.
The funding will provide $5,000 per truck for 1,216 additional trucks to install particulate matter filters on their rigs, and provide $50,000 for owners of 103 old trucks to purchase newer models. CARB will continue to work with its local, port, and federal partners to seek additional compliance assistance funding. The agency will also consider regulatory changes to provide compliance flexibility.
The Port Drayage Rule prohibits trucks with 1993 or older engines from entering ports and intermodal rail yards beginning Jan 1, 2010. Also effective New Year’s Day, trucks with model year 1994-2003 engines must be equipped with a CARB-approved diesel particulate filter.
In December, OOIDA asked CARB to delay enforcement of both the Port Drayage Rule and its newly enforced reefer rule, also known as the Transportation Refrigeration Unit rule.
Truckers who made timely application for retrofit funding to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in 2008 and 2009 but were denied funding when the money ran out, and who will be unable to enter the port when the new rule goes into effect, are eligible for the grants. Truckers who applied and qualified for replacement funding in 2008, but were denied in 2009 when the money ran out, are also eligible.
“With today’s announcement, we are helping keep more than 1,200 truckers operating at the Port of Oakland,” said CARB Chairman Mary D Nichols. “This is good news for both the trucking community and those that suffer from poor air quality in West Oakland. We will work tirelessly with the Bay Area Air District and port to get all of the applications processed and get the money out the door quickly.”
Average cost of a particulate matter filter is $16,000, with the devices removing 85% of the diesel emissions from older trucks. State, local, and federal air agencies and ports now have provided $37 million in funding to help clean up more than 2,300 trucks at the Port of Oakland. Overall, CARB, local air districts, ports, and the US Environmental Protection Agency have contributed more than $196 million statewide to help port truckers meet the 2010 requirements.
