Lift trucks: California Air Resource Board releases new standards
The regulation is expected to reduce HC and NOx emissions by 5.7 tons per day in 2010 and 6.2 tons per day in 2020--it's like taking 200,000 cars off the road.
By Lorie King Rogers, Associate Editor -- Modern Materials Handling, 7/1/2009
As part of California's latest efforts to improve air quality, the state's Air Resource Board (CARB, www.arb.ca.gov) has amended existing emissions standards and released stricter test procedures and fleet requirements for large spark-ignition (LSI) engine forklifts and other industrial equipment.
According to CARB, California has more than 90,000 off-road LSI engines, many of which have no emissions controls and have been part of operator fleets for decades. The organization estimates that one uncontrolled engine can emit as much hydrocarbon (HC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in three 8-hour shifts as a new car certified to California's cleanest emission standard does in its entire lifetime. The LSI regulation aims to reduce HC and NOx emissions by about 6 tons per day, helping California meet federal clean air standards. The regulation is expected to reduce HC and NOx emissions by 5.7 tons per day in 2010 and 6.2 tons per day in 2020—the equivalent of taking 200,000 cars off the road.
Manufacturers of 25 horsepower or greater off-road LSI engines must comply with new engine standards and test procedures, and manufacturers of retrofit emission control systems intended for use on LSI engines must comply with the verification procedures.
The regulations apply to any state business with four or more gasoline- or propane-fueled engines, including forklifts. Additionally, out-of-state companies doing business in California must adhere to the new standards. Those found out of compliance are subject to fines of $500 per vehicle per day retroactive to Jan. 1, 2009, when the first fleet average standards became effective.
Industry impact
What does this mean for the materials handling industry?
Fleet operators with four or more LSI vehicles must be aware of the new standards. The immediate challenge is to educate affected companies and determine whether or not fleets are in compliance. A number of companies, including CLARK Material Handling (www.clarkmhc.com) in Lexington, Ky., and Toyota Material Handling (www.tmhnc.com) based in Hayward, Calif., are offering forklift evaluations to help businesses.
"We understand the complexity of compliance and are happy to offer free fleet evaluations and recommendations," says Mark Gates, Toyota product support manager. "This will allow business owners to avoid penalties during a time when every penny counts."
Compliance regarding in-use fleet vehicles is not measured by a traditional tail pipe exhaust test, and it doesn't measure individual vehicles. It's measured by creating a baseline for entire fleet inventory using required data such as make, model and serial number and calculating the fleet average. It's the fleet average that must fall within the new standards.
If a fleet average is established and it does not fall with the new standards, companies must retrofit or replace. Some have no choice: Lift trucks older than 1991 cannot be retrofitted and must be replaced.
The clear concern is undoubtedly the bottom line. Not only are the fines steep, but companies with large fleets can see costs mount quickly. But as Gates says, the state's goal is not to put companies out of business, it's to reduce emissions and be kind to the environment.
Cost of compliance
"The [new] requirements might have an impact on the lift truck material handling supply chain process from a cost and support perspective in the near term as the program is implemented. With CARB requirements, there are new technical emission truck components, particularly for the engine, that can present an increase in overall material costs," says David Greathouse, director of manufacturing operations for Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America (MCFA, www.mcfa.com).
CARB estimates that the total cost of compliance for companies affected by the stricter standards will be about $8 million. Financial assistance may be available. For example, grant money is available through the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program (www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/moyer), which is a partnership between CARB and local air districts throughout the state. Named after the late Carl Moyer, a key figure in developing state air quality policy, this is a voluntary program that offers grants to owners of heavy-duty vehicles and equipment.
"Like most industries today, the material handling sector is gravitating toward cleaner manufacturing processes and technologies. It is important that our industry embrace this evolution of manufacturing and look for innovative ways to provide green alternatives while also delivering superior lift truck handling and performance applications," says Paul Fiala, MCFA manager of product marketing and training.
ITA view
Financing is just one concern regarding this issue that has so many moving parts. Gary Cross, attorney and spokesperson for the Industrial Truck Association (www.indtrk.org), says, "ITA members, as manufacturers, are directly subject to the CARB standards for new LSI engines. Since most of these run on propane, we are concerned that the quality of propane available in California is not as consistent as the quality of gasoline available at service stations and that spotty propane quality could affect our engines' ability to comply with the emissions limits over their useful life."
Cross adds, "As to the LSI and diesel fleet requirements, CARB's regulations for LSI fleets are less complex and are more rational, in our opinion, in the way they handle leased and rented forklifts, which are a significant percentage of the market—the basic idea for rented and leased units under the LSI fleet rule is that the end user is responsible for compliance and the end users' demand for cleaner engines to meet the fleet requirements will cause manufacturers to supply those engines. For diesel fleets, however, whether the end user or the owner of the forklift is responsible for compliance can depend on the length of the lease term, whether the lease meets the definition of a 'finance lease,' and whether the lease itself states who will be responsible. We think this will create confusion and will make it more difficult for both end users and dealers to plan their compliance in advance."
At this time, California is the only state to have standards that are more stringent than the national Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines. While other states must meet national EPA standards, which are considered to be quite vigorous, they cannot enforce the same standards as California without EPA approval.
| January 1, 2007 | New engine certification standard and associated test procedures |
| May 12, 2007 | Retrofit emission control systems verification procedures |
| January 1, 2009 | In-use fleet average requirements |
| January 1, 2010 | More stringent new engine certification standard and test procedures |
| January 1, 2011 | In-use fleet average requirements |
| January 1, 2013 | In-use fleet average requirements |
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