California Air Resources Board Weakens 2007 Bus Emissions Rule

- State Authority Reverses Course; A Setback for Cleaner Air in California

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 4 -- After voting unanimously Oct. 20 to maintain California's 2007 emissions standards for urban transit buses, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) reversed course last week and aligned state standards with much weaker federal rules that allow buses to emit six times more pollution.

The old rule, adopted in 2000, would have required buses purchased beginning in 2007 to meet a 0.2-gram standard for nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. NOx contributes significantly to smog.

The new rule approved by CARB on Oct. 27 allows buses to emit 1.2 grams of NOx.

CARB said it abandoned California's tougher emissions standard because transit agencies that power their buses with compressed natural gas would lose state funding opportunities for new-bus purchases if the original standard were left in place.

CARB staff failed to point out to the Board, however, that federal incentives cover more than 83% of the cost of new alternative-fuel buses -- which so sharply reduces the cost of new buses for transit agencies that the state funding program isn't relevant.

Notably, no transit agencies that deploy natural gas powered buses spoke out to remove the 0.2-gram NOx standard, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which oversees an area (including Los Angeles) where all agencies must take the alternative-fuels path, favored retaining California's tougher emissions standard.

Diesel interests have lobbied California officials to weaken the state's bus emissions standards, saying that no diesel-engine manufacturers would have complied with the original 2007 rule, and that the cost of offsetting pollution generated by older diesel-powered buses would be too high. Some natural gas engine-makers had committed to meeting the 2007 standard, but whether they do so now remains to be seen since they don't have to.

"CARB's interest in continuing our statewide fight against air pollution is stalled," said Michael L. Eaves, president of the California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition. "Where once we were at the forefront of cleaning up the air, California has ceded authority to the federal government, which is much less intent on achieving that goal. CARB's credibility also has been weakened by their enacting a standard only to weaken it at the last minute because some would rather not comply."