Sarah Deslauriers, Director of Air, Climate, & Energy Programs California Association of Sanitation Agencies
California has been a pioneer in efforts to mitigate the impacts of global climate change, committing to achieving carbon neutrality statewide by 2045. To do this, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) first worked to understand the key sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Information gathered in the statewide GHG inventory (bit.ly/3THdjpY) (averaging 2000-2021 data) shows that roughly 40 percent of the State’s GHG emissions are related to transportation. Therefore, reductions in transportation-related GHG emissions will be critical to meeting the State’s climate goals.
To achieve its 2045 goal, CARB has promulgated multiple clean vehicle regulations targeting the various types of on- and off-road vehicles in an effort to influence the rapid transition to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).1 One such regulation is the recently approved Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) (bit.ly/4cuaxgx), adopted on April 28, 2023, which became effective Oct. 1, 2023. These regulations apply to medium- and heavy-duty on-road vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 8,500 pounds. These types of vehicles include those owned by state, local, and federal government agencies, as well as high-priority fleets. High-priority fleets are entities that own, operate, or direct at least one vehicle in California and have either $50 million or more in gross annual revenues or that own, operate, or have common ownership or control of a total of 50 or more vehicles (excluding light-duty package delivery vehicles).
The ACF Regulations consist of four distinct sets of regulations (bit.ly/4aHP7ur) that apply to a variety of sectors, but our focus is on how the ACF Regulations apply to and impact local publicly owned wastewater agencies and municipal systems that collect and treat wastewater. The ACF Regulations that apply to public wastewater agencies are the State & Local Government Agency Fleet Requirements (Section 2013) and the High Priority & Federal Fleets Requirements (Section 2015). Both sections are essentially designed to drive local agencies to purchase and replace their fleets with ZEVs within the next decade.
The State and Local Government Agency Fleet Requirements (bit.ly/3TKUFNT) apply to city, county, special district, and State agency fleet replacement vehicles. Public wastewater agencies fall under these requirements for their medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (unless they opt into the High Priority & Federal Fleets Requirements; see below). The requirements apply to replacement vehicles and depend on which county your organization resides in and whether your fleet consists of 10 vehicles or more.
A critical factor in these requirements is that State & Local Government Agency fleets have no requirement to end the use of existing compliant combustion vehicles, which can be operated indefinitely. This gives wastewater agencies some flexibility. However, most medium– and heavy-duty vehicles used by wastewater agencies do NOT have ZEV-equivalent replacement options. This is problematic since the extensions and exemptions are only available to vehicles that are 13 years or older, which exceeds the typical reliable useful life (eight to ten years) of most medium– and heavy–duty vehicles in wastewater agency fleets. The result is a mandate to purchase vehicles that simply do not yet exist or are not viable for wastewater agency operations and purposes.
In lieu of complying with the requirements of the State & Local Government Agency Fleets for replacement vehicles, the ACF Regulations allow public agencies to elect to permanently opt their entire medium- and heavy-duty fleets into the High Priority and Federal Fleet Requirements (bit.ly/4cDwOIC) until Jan. 1, 2030. After electing to opt into the High Priority & Federal Fleets Requirements, fleet owners may NOT opt back into the State & Local Government Agency Fleet Requirements. Once opted into the High Priority & Federal Fleets Requirements, a public agency’s entire medium– and heavy-duty fleet must adhere to the ZEV Milestone Option where vehicles are categorized into Milestone Groups 1, 2, or 3 based on vehicle type and are assigned distinct timelines to transition those vehicles to ZEVs (see CASA’s Summary bit.ly/3xxjTYA for timelines). However, the issue remains that many medium- and heavy-duty vehicles wastewater agencies utilize do NOT have ZEV-equivalent replacement options, and these requirements only provide extensions and exemptions to vehicles that are 16 years or older, far exceeding the typical reliable useful life of wastewater agency medium– and heavy-duty vehicles.
WORKING TOGETHER TO RESOLVE ISSUES
In response to concerns raised by CASA and its members about the impact of the ACF Regulations on SB 1383 implementation and the biogas market, CARB’s Board Resolution directed its staff to collaborate with CASA and other state agencies. The resolution prioritized policy discussions on wastewater agencies’ role in SB 1383 implementation and expanding beneficial uses of wastewater-based biomethane, such as using it as a feedstock for hydrogen production or generating electricity for onsite use or charging electric vehicles.
If your organization is outside a low-population county OR you have more than 10 vehicles, then beginning January 1, 2024, through January 1, 2027, 50% of vehicle purchases must be ZEVs, and following January 1, 2027, 100% of vehicle purchases must be ZEVs. If your organization is within a low-population county OR you have 10 or fewer vehicles, after January 1, 2027, 100% of vehicle purchases must be ZEVs.
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