The Coalition is moving on May 1 from its current location to a beautiful, historic building just a block from the state capitol that houses many influential associations. The address is 1201 K St., Suite 1990, Sacramento, California 95814-3924.
Governor Jerry Brown has filed a motion to become party to an existing lawsuit (the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers v. the EPA, et. al) challenging President Trump’s March 15 executive order directing the EPA to re-examine Obama-era rules governing the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks.
“Any weakening or delay of the national standards will result in increased harms to our natural resources, our economy, and our people,” reads a legal filing submitted March 14 by the state.
Trump’s executive order begins the process to withdraw the final determination on the EPA’s vehicle emission standards for 2022–25. The EPA must now determine by April 2018 if the established standards, including increasing gas mileage to 50.8 mpg for cars and light-duty trucks by 2025, are appropriate and if the agency will submit a new proposal next year.
Environmental advocates are concerned that the withdrawal will lead to weaker fuel efficiency standards as well as complicated legal battles with environmental groups and states, including California, that have adopted their own, more aggressive vehicle emissions standards. In a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Brown accused Trump and Pruitt of trying to weaken auto-emission standards in “an unconscionable gift to polluters.”
During his visit to Washington the week of March 20, Brown told the L.A. Times, “We’re going to fight as hard as we can for efficient cars that pollute less, cause less asthma, less respiratory disease and deal with climate change in the way we think it should be.”
At its March 23 board meeting, CARB approved the state’s strategy for following the State Implementation Plan (SIP), which describes how CARB intends to further reduce vehicle emissions to meet federal air quality standards over the next 15 years. The board directed staff to report annually on progress in implementing the SIP strategy and made recommendations on additional funding and ways to expedite implementation where possible. In addition, CARB approved the South Coast AQMD’s comprehensive air quality plan.
CARB has released its proposal for changes to the Carl Moyer Program Guidelines, as required by 2015 state law instructing CARB to make the program more cost-effective and provide better funding guidance. CARB must adopt updated guidelines by July 1, 2017, including cost-effectiveness limits that recognize rising technology and regulatory costs, rules allowing project co-funding with Moyer dollars without penalties, and added eligibility for infrastructure projects. According to the guidelines, the proposed revisions are intended to “fully support emissions reductions within the changing landscape of clean air technology.”
The most significant changes include a tiered cost-effectiveness approach that will support both conventional projects and emerging technologies. The proposal increases the general limit from $18,260 to $30,000 per weighted ton of emission reductions. For advanced technology engines that achieve zero- or near-zero emissions, CARB’s proposal lets air districts apply a limit of up to $100,000 per weighted ton; the higher limit would provide an incentive for fleets to upgrade to cleaner technologies. The proposal expands the infrastructure program to fund the installation of fueling or energy infrastructure for zero- and near-zero-emission alternative vehicles and equipment; grants could cover as much as 50 percent of eligible costs for all projects and an additional 10 percent for publicly accessible stations.
Coalition President Thomas Lawson and board members are reviewing the proposal and preparing comments.
CARB has released its 2017 Cap-and-Trade Auction Proceeds Annual Report, which tracks the impact of investments from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening local economies, and improving public health and the state’s environment. Last year, the state invested more than $500 million in new funding, doubling the number of climate action projects. This year’s report includes an interactive map that shows where cap-and-trade funds are being invested throughout California.
According to the report, 50 percent of the projects benefited disadvantaged communities, including a San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District program that helps low-income residents replace old, polluting cars with cleaner vehicles. This exceeds the SB 535 requirement that at least 25 percent of investments go to projects benefiting the most polluted areas.
CARB received $369 million last year and has received a total of $695 million to date for low-carbon transportation projects. The California Department of Food and Agriculture received $50 million last year for the Dairy Digester Research and Development program and has received $62 million to date. So far, the Legislature has appropriated $3.4 billion to 12 state agencies that have used $1.2 billion to date to fund a variety of air cleanup projects in California.
Coinciding with its May board meeting, the Coalition is planning its 2017 Lobby Day, preceded by an awards reception honoring the legislators and stakeholders who have done the most to support clean transportation, on May 10 in Sacramento. The event gives Coalition members the opportunity to speak with legislators and staff members about NGV issues. The Coalition will give awards in four categories: Legislator of the Year, Advocate of the Year, Tech Company of the Year, and Unsung Hero of the Year. Winners will be announced at the awards reception. The Coalition encourages members to attend both events.
The Ratto Group has agreed to sell Sonoma County’s dominant waste and recycling company to Recology for an undisclosed amount. The Ratto Group handles garbage and recycling in eight of Sonoma County’s nine cities and parts of northern Marin County. Recology is one of the largest solid waste, recovery, and recycling firms on the West Coast.
Judge Brad R. Hill of California’s 5th District Court of Appeal rejected an amicus brief filed by the Coalition to provide additional information in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. POET, one of the nation’s largest ethanol producers, initiated the lawsuit in 2013, alleging that CARB mishandled diesel fuel rules. Unfortunately, when the NGV industry got the call to file briefs, it was not advised of the filing schedule. POET successfully argued that the brief should be thrown out because it was submitted too late for consideration.
The brief asked the court to find a solution that has the least impact on low-carbon fuel industries, public health, and the environment. It also suggested that if CARB is found to be out of compliance with the rules, the agency should be directed to comply rather than to suspend or freeze the program, and it asked the court to avoid disrupting the regulatory framework that hundreds of companies rely on when they invest in California’s low-carbon fuel economy.
Solano County Transit recently opened a new CNG fueling station in Vallejo to serve the natural gas buses in its fleet, a key step in the agency’s transition from diesel to CNG. Previously, the CNG buses were refueled at a facility in American Canyon, and they can now refuel onsite at the bus yard.