Air Quality Rules Help Farmers

Recent changes to state air-quality regulations governing diesel trucks have given farmers and ranchers more time to qualify trucks for the agricultural provisions of the rules, and more options for complying if their trucks don’t meet the mileage limits for agricultural trucks.

“If you’ve reported before, you’ll be a step ahead. But if you did not report before, you can still do it,” says Cynthia Cory, director of environmental affairs for the California Farm Bureau Federation, during a seminar on the truck rules at the recent World Ag Expo in Tulare.

The California Air Resources Board originally adopted its truck and bus rules in 2008, requiring owners of diesel trucks qualifying for the agricultural provisions to report their trucks by March 31, 2010. But last December, the ARB adopted a number of changes to the regulations – including an extension of the application date for agricultural trucks until March 31, 2011.

“If you did not sign up before, you can still sign up,” Cory says. “As long as you owned those trucks by 2009, and you didn’t sign up by last year, you can still sign up agricultural trucks.”

More Time For Compliance

Qualified agricultural trucks have additional time to meet requirements to replace diesel engines with newer, cleaner-running models – if they stay under annual mileage limits.

The rule delays the compliance date until Jan. 1, 2017, for agricultural trucks: With engine dates of 2006 or newer, driving 25,000 miles a year or less; with engine dates of 1996 through 2005, driving 20,000 miles a year or less; with engine dates earlier than 1996, driving 15,000 miles a year or less.

Calif. Farm Bureau contributed information for this story. Go to www.cfbf.com for more details.