(August 15, 2008) Michael Darling has been happy to do business in California for the last 18 years, but should the impending truck and bus replacement rule being drafted by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) be adopted as is, he expects his company to run out of money by 2013.

As vice president of operations for the West Sacramento-based Western Truck School, a California Chamber of Commerce member, Darling is already coping with high gas prices and low enrollment numbers due to a lagging economy. He estimates the new rule, which will force him to replace all 30 trucks and buses the company uses for training or upgrade them with low-emitting air filters, could cost him upwards of $1 million, putting him out of business within five years.

“We have no problem with complying with a regulation to clean up the air — none — but to completely revamp a fleet in 18 months? Impossible,” Darling said.

Replacement Rule

While Darling is busy operating his four truck training campuses in California, which help put 800 to 1,000 truck drivers on the road each year, ARB is formulating regulations that could affect an additional 1.5 million trucks and buses currently in use on the state’s roads, highways and farms. The rule applies to diesel engines and means owners of these engines will be required to replace or make upgrades in just a few short years.

Vice President of Operations Michael Darling (left) and Training Coordinator Don Schweizer of Western Truck School say the impending truck and bus replacement rule could put them out of business.  View video

ARB’s goal is to have the entire model year 2006 and older heavy-duty trucks meet model year 2007 emission levels by 2014. Compliance options begin phasing in starting December 31, 2010.

Darling said he has no problem protecting the environment, but thinks it should be done in a way that does not have such a negative impact on a California economy that already is struggling or the deficit-plagued state budget. The main issue the 32-year-old Western Truck School, and many other small to large companies in the industry have with the rule, he said, is the short amount of time that would be given to comply with the ARB standards.

Strenuous Timeline

Darling said his company could comply with such standards within a five- to 10-year period, but coming up with $1 million (the filters are expected to cost $15,000 to $20,000 each) on such a short timeline to retrofit an old truck just to keep it on the road is another matter.

“We can’t do it,” he said.

Although industry leaders are developing an alternative proposal to submit to ARB, Darling said the rule should avoid focusing on the smaller businesses that emit very low levels of emissions.

“There has to be a line there; let’s go after the gross polluters, let’s go after the ones that are truly affecting the high waste first and at least give some consideration to what it is going to do to the California economy,” he said.

Western Truck School’s operational fleet consists of 30 vehicles with engine model years ranging from 1987 to 1999. Typical usage for the vehicles is 1,000 miles per month, Darling said.

Economic Impact

With driving schools such as Western Truck School looking down the barrel of bankruptcy, Darling said the economic strain on the state will be evident in that there will be less product transported along the highways. Truck driving students will then be forced to train in other states, which in turn would lead to income and tax revenues being transplanted into other states, he said.

Western Truck School Training Coordinator Don Schweizer said the impact will be recognizable when Californians view their highways.

“Everything that everybody has, owns, wears, lives — without a truck, they wouldn’t have it, it’s that simple,” Schweizer commented.

He said that the word about the rule is not spreading fast enough.

“It needs to get out there faster because we only have a few months,” Schweizer said.

Asked whether he would move his company to a neighboring state if the ARB adopts the standard in its current form, Darling emphatically replied, “Yes. Do we have a choice? We really don’t, not given the timeframe.”

Coalition Working for Change

The CalChamber, along with truck owners, farmers, construction contractors and other business and community leaders, has formed a coalition focusing on the pending rule, which will be voted on at the October 23-24 ARB meeting.

The coalition, Driving Toward a Cleaner California (DTCC), is committed to working with ARB to craft a sensible truck and bus replacement rule that both cleans the air and keeps California’s economy moving forward.

For more information about DTCC, visit www.drivecleanca.org.

A link to the coalition website is available at www.calchamber.com.

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