By Paul Sousa, Director of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs

For those that own heavy duty diesel trucks that are enrolled in one of the extensions to the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Truck and Bus Rule, the time to report the odometer readings for these trucks is now. This is a reminder to record your odometer readings and then enter them into the online CARB database by the end of this month. Reporting is only required for trucks enrolled in an extension. If you have questions or need help with this, please let me know.

This year (2022) is the last year for the Ag Mileage Extension, which has limits of 10,000 miles per year. After that most trucks will have to comply with the rule. Complying means having trucks with 2010 or newer engines. There are a couple of exceptions, for example if you only operate the truck in a NOx exempt area (mostly the northern third of state) it will only need a diesel particulate filter.

The Low Use Exemption will continue for trucks that travel less than 1,000 miles per year. Non-compliant trucks will not be able to be registered with the DMV. As you can see there are a lot of details in the regulation. If you have questions about how to address your specific situation, I would be happy to talk with you so give me a call. Just remember that in most cases you will need to have a truck with a 2010 or newer engine.

The state is on a mission to clean up (and ultimately to transition away from) fossil fueled vehicles, especially diesel trucks. There are several other rules that CARB is working on regarding diesel trucks. One that was recently adopted is a smog check style program for trucks. Trucks will soon have to pass an emissions test to be registered for road use, likely starting in 2023. Newer diesel trucks with modern emissions controls are much cleaner and CARB wants to ensure that those emission controls are maintained and continue to operate as designed. CARB also continues to develop rules to speed up the transition to zero emission vehicles. I am watching those developments and will keep you posted.

If you need help reporting your odometer readings to CARB or if you have any questions on the issues mentioned above, you can contact me at [email protected] or at 209–527–6453.