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Permanently Fund Diesel Pollution Reduction

Assembly Bill 923 (Firebaugh) provides a stable funding source of up to $80 million per year for the Carl Moyer program, which provides incentives for operators of diesel engines to replace or retrofit them with cleaner equipment.

Over half a million heavy-duty diesel trucks are driven throughout the state, in addition to about 700,000 diesel-fueled engines used in construction and agriculture. These diesel engines contribute about 40% of all nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions from mobile sources. NO_x is one of the main contributors to ground-level ozone, one of the most health-damaging components of smog.

However, diesel engines are getting cleaner with the use of cleaner fuels and new technology. Under the Carl Moyer Program, private companies or public agencies operating heavy-duty engines in California receive grants that cover an incremental portion of the cost of cleaner on-road, off-road, marine and locomotive engines. For example, a company may be able to buy a new truck for $100,000 which meets the state’s minimum emission standards, or buy a lower-emission truck for $125,000. The offsetting cost ($25,000) is available through the Moyer Program to buy the lower-emission truck.

Cleaner diesel engines and alternative fuel engines are available now and will likely be the dominant choice for complying with future emission standards. Cleaner engines can, in some cases, mean improved fuel economy and reduced fuel costs, a benefit to participating businesses. Participation also signals to the local community a commitment to environmental improvement. The Moyer Program is particularly beneficial at trucking yards or shipping terminals in heavily populated areas.

AB 923 will fund the Moyer Program and other pollution reduction programs through a combination of small fees. Air Quality Management Districts (AQMDs) throughout the state already place a $1 surcharge on the purchase of each new tire in the state to mitigate pollution from tires; that fee will go up to $1.75. Also, air quality surcharges to vehicle registration fees will go from $4 to $6, funding the replacement, retrofitting and repair of diesel engines used in industry, agriculture, and school buses. These fees will total up to $80 million per year for diesel pollution reduction.

What You Can Do

Victory! Governor Schwarzenegger has signed AB 923!

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: 916-445-4633
Email the Governor using his web form at http://www.govmail.ca.gov/.