California Air Resources Board Announces “Clean Truck Partnership”

On July 6, 2023, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced a “Clean Truck Partnership” with various truck manufacturers and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association.
Parties to the agreement include:

• CARB
• Cummins, Inc.
• Daimler Truck North America
• Ford Motor Company
• General Motors Company
• Hino Motors Limited, Inc.
• Izuzu Technical Center of America, Inc.
• Navistar, Inc.
• Stellantis N.V.
• Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association
• Volvo Group North America

Under the terms of the agreement, CARB will align with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2027 NOx regulation and modify elements of the 2024 NOx emission regulations for which manufacturers will provide offsets as necessary to maintain California’s emission targets.  CARB also commits to providing no less than four years’ lead time and at least three years of regulatory stability before imposing new requirements. Truck manufacturers commit to meeting CARB’s zero-emission and criteria pollutant regulations in the state regardless of any attempts by other entities to challenge California’s authority.

A copy of the agreement can be found here.

Details are provided below.

Details of the Clean Truck Partnership

• CARB commits to initiating actions set forth in Appendices A, B, and C.
  • Appendix A - Actions set forth in Appendix A include revising the existing compliance flexibility provisions of CARB’s Omnibus Regulation by raising the existing caps on legacy engines and streamlining certain other provisions without increasing emissions compared to the preexisting Omnibus Regulation.
  • Appendix B – Actions set forth in Appendix B include: clarifying which authorities and regulations remain status quo in California; specifying which regulations are covered by the OEMs’ commitment; and amending the Omnibus Regulation’s 2027 and later model year requirements to align with the EPA Clean Trucks Plan (CTP) NOx Final Rule, except for certain specified exceptions, subject to separate CARB provisions and control.
  • Appendix C – Actions set forth in Appendix C pertain to CARB’s Emission Warranty and Information Reporting (EWIR) program, CARB’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulation, and certain other matters. Appendix C also contains CARB’s commitment on implementation flexibility for automatic recalls during the 2024 to 2034 model year timeframe for the EWIR and In Use Compliance Regulations, as well as ongoing efforts on ACT and Advanced Clean Fleet (ACF) Regulations.
• OEMs commit to meet in California the relevant provisions of the CARB regulations set forth in Appendices A and B, and any agreed upon modifications to such regulations as set forth in the Agreement, irrespective of the outcome of any litigation challenging the waivers or authorizations for those regulations or of CARB’s overall authority to implement those regulations.
• CARB and OEMs will work together to ensure that requirements in S.177 states are consistent with the terms of the new agreement.
• EMA and the OEMs agree not to challenge issuance of the regulations set forth in Appendix B or challenge any EPA waiver granting those regulations.
• CARB will propose a 4-year lead time and 3- year stability periods for future criteria emissions regulations affecting new heavy-duty on-highway (HDOH) engines and vehicles. This will apply to the planned ACT 2 rulemaking. It will not apply to the changes included in Appendices A and B.
• CARB agrees to propose changes to the NOx rule by Aug. 29, 2023.
• CARB will send a follow-up letter to the Petition for Reconsideration it filed with EPA regarding EPA’s 2027 Low NOx rule informing EPA that CARB plans to harmonize with the EPA 2027 CTP NOx rule with the exceptions noted in Appendix B. CARB will not seek additional changes to EPA’s 2027 Low NOx rule, provided EPA does not make changes to its rule inconsistent with this Agreement.