CHAPTER 4. LIMITATION ON DIESEL-FUELED COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE ENGINE IDLING

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

3-04-1000 PURPOSE:

The State Legislature of the State of California has determined that air quality is impacted by lengthy idling of diesel-fueled commercial motor vehicles. It authorized the California Air Resource Board, pursuant to Health and Safety Code sections 39002, 39003, 39500 and 43013, to adopt regulations restricting idling of diesel-fueled commercial motor vehicles. The California Air Resources Board adopted Section 2485 as set out in Title 13 for the California Code of Regulations restricting the idling of diesel-fueled commercial motor vehicles with gross vehicle weight ratings of greater than 10,000 pounds that are or must be licensed to operate on publicly maintained highways and streets within California. The County of Tulare desires to raise public awareness of these restrictions and the associated penalties by adding this Chapter, incorporating these regulations, to the Ordinance Code of Tulare. References to Section 2485 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations will hereinafter be noted as authority for particular sections of this Chapter as follows: [Reference: 13 CCR Section 2485].

(Added by Ord. No. 3486, effective 12-17-15)

3-04-1005 INTENT:

It is the County’s intent to incorporate the regulations of Title 13, Section 2485, of the California Code of Regulations into its Ordinance Code to provide a local reference to these requirements. The authority to adopt these regulations is vested in the California Air Resources Board. It is not the intent of the County to replace, supersede or modify the regulations adopted by the California Air Resource Board. It is the County’s intent that regulations adopted by the California Air Resource Board pertaining to diesel-fueled commercial motor vehicles and any amendments or changes made from time to time to those regulations shall control, take priority over and preempt the regulations adopted below.

(Added by Ord. No. 3486, effective 12-17-15)

3-04-1010 APPLICABILITY:

This Chapter applies to diesel-fueled commercial motor vehicles that operate in the unincorporated areas of the County of Tulare with gross vehicle weight ratings of greater than 10,000 pounds that are or must be licensed for operation on highways as provided in Title 13, Section 2485 of the California Code of Regulations. This specifically includes (1) California-based vehicles and (2) Non-California-based vehicles. [Reference: 13 CCR Section 2485(b)]

(Added by Ord. No. 3486, effective 12-17-15)

3-04-1010 DEFINITIONS:

The definitions set out in Title 13, Section 2485(h), of the California Code of Regulations and the California Vehicle Code, as either may be amended from time to time, shall govern the construction of this Chapter and control over the definitions set out herein. The definitions set out herein are for ease of reference only and shall not supersede, preempt or modify the definitions set out in Section 2485(h) or the Vehicle Code.

(a)    "Armored car" is as defined in Vehicle Code section 115 (a vehicle that is equipped with materials on either the front, sides, or rear for the protection of persons therein from missiles discharged from firearms).

(b)    "Authorized emergency vehicle" is as defined in Vehicle Code Section 165.

(c)    "Auxiliary power system" or "APS" means any device that is permanently dedicated to the vehicle on which it is installed and provides electrical, mechanical, or thermal energy to the primary diesel engine, truck cab and/or sleeper berth, bus's passenger compartment or any other commercial vehicle's cab, as an alternative to idling the primary diesel engine.

(d)    "Bus" means any vehicle defined in Title 13, California Code of Regulations, Section 2480, subsections (h) (13)-(16), inclusive or as defined in the Vehicle Code Section 233.

(e)    "Commercial motor vehicle" means any vehicle or combination of vehicles defined in Vehicle Code Section 15210(b) and any other motor truck or bus with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, except the following:

(1)    a zero emission vehicle; or

(2)    a pickup truck as defined in Vehicle Code Section 471 (a motor truck with a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating of less than 11,500 pounds, an unladen weight of less than 8,001 pounds, and which is equipped with an open box-type bed not exceeding 9 feet in length. "Pickup truck" does not include a motor vehicle otherwise meeting this definition that is equipped with a bed-mounted storage compartment unit commonly called a "utility body").

(f)    "Driver" is as defined in Vehicle Code Section 305 (any person who drives, operates, or is in actual physical control of a vehicle).

(g)    "Fuel-fired heater" means a fuel burning device that creates heat for the purpose of (1) warming the cab or sleeper berth compartment of a vehicle or (2) warming the engine oil and/or coolant for easy start-up of the vehicle's engine but does not contribute to the propulsion of the vehicle.

(h)    "Gross vehicle weight rating" is as defined in Vehicle Code Section 350 (the weight specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle).

(i)    "Highway" is as defined in Vehicle Code Section 360 (a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for the purpose of vehicular travel. Highway includes street).

(j)    "Idling" means the vehicle engine is running at any location while the vehicle is stationary.

(k)    "Motor truck" or "motortruck" means a motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property.

(l)    "Official traffic control device" is as defined in Vehicle Code Section 440 (any signal, marking, or device, consistent with Section 21400 of the Vehicle Code, placed or erected by authority of a public body or official having jurisdiction, for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding traffic, but does not include islands, curbs, traffic barriers, speed bumps, or other roadway design features).

(m)    "Official traffic control signal" is as defined in Vehicle Code Section 445 (any device, whether manually, electrically, or mechanically operated, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and proceed and which is erected by authority of a public body or official having jurisdiction).

(n)    "Owner" is as defined in Vehicle Code Section 460.

(o)    "Primary diesel engine" means the diesel-fueled engine used for vehicle propulsion.

(p)    "Queuing" means (1) through (3):

(1)    the intermittent starting and stopping of a vehicle;

(2)    while the driver, in the normal course of doing business, is waiting to perform work or a service; and

(3)    when shutting the vehicle engine off would impede the progress of the queue and is not practicable.

(4)    Queuing does not include the time a driver may wait motionless in line in anticipation of the start of a workday or opening of a location where work or a service will be performed.

(q)    "Restricted area" means any real property zoned for individual or multifamily housing units that has one or more of such units on it.

(r)    "Safety or health emergency" means:

(1)    a sudden, urgent, or usually unforeseen, occurrence; or

(2)    a foreseeable occurrence relative to a medical or physiological condition.

(s)    "Sleeper berth" is as defined in Title 13, California Code of Regulations, Section 1265.

(t)    "Vehicle" is as defined in the Vehicle Code Section 670 (a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved or drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks).

(u)    "Workover rig" is as defined in Section 2449 of Title 13, California Code of Regulations (a mobile self-propelled rig used to perform one or more remedial operations, such as deepening, plugging back, pulling and resetting liners, on a producing oil or gas well to try to restore or increase the well’s production).

(Added by Ord. No. 3486, effective 12-17-15)

ARTICLE 3. RESTRICTIONS

3-04-1020 IDLING RESTRICTIONS:

As provided in Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 2485(c):

(a)    Idling: The driver of any vehicle subject to Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 2485 and this Chapter shall comply with the following requirements, except as noted in Section 3-04-1030 below:

(1)    The driver shall not idle the vehicle’s primary diesel engine for greater than 5.0 minutes at any location.

(2)    The driver shall not operate a diesel-fueled auxiliary power system (APS) to power a heater, air conditioner, or any ancillary equipment on that vehicle during sleeping or resting in a sleeper berth for greater than 5.0 minutes at any location when within 100 feet of a restricted area.

(b)    Use of Alternative Technologies:

(1)    The driver shall not operate an internal combustion APS on any vehicle equipped with a 2007 and subsequent model year primary diesel engine unless the vehicle is:

(A)    Equipped with an APS meeting the emissions performance requirements found in subsection (c)(1)(a) of this section; and

(B)    The vehicle is equipped with a label meeting the requirements pursuant to section 35.B.4 of the "California Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for 2004 and Subsequent Model Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines and Vehicles," as incorporated by reference in Title 13, California Code of Regulations, Section 1956.8(b).

(2)    The driver shall not operate a fuel-fired heater on any vehicle equipped with a 2007 and subsequent model year primary diesel engine unless the fuel-fired heater meets the emissions performance requirements found in subsection (c)(2), below;

(3)    The driver of a vehicle equipped with a 2006 or older model year primary diesel engine may use and operate in California any certified internal combustion APS with or without the additional PM control specified in subsection (c)(1)(A) or any other certified alternative idling reduction technology.

(c)    Compliance Requirements: As an alternative to idling the primary engine, diesel engines/vehicles may, as an option, be equipped with alternative technologies, as listed and defined below in (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection. If so equipped, these technologies are subject to the following requirements:

(1)    Internal Combustion APS.

(A)    In order to operate in California, an APS utilizing an internal combustion engine must comply with applicable California off-road and/or federal non-road emission standards and test procedures for its fuel type and power category. In addition, diesel-fueled APSs installed on vehicles equipped with primary engines certified to the 2007 and subsequent model year heavy-duty diesel engine standards, pursuant to Section 1956.8(a)(2)(A) of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, shall either:

i.    be equipped with a verified Level 3 in-use strategy for particulate matter control (see title 13, CCR, sections 2700 to 2710), or

ii.    have its exhaust routed directly into the vehicle's exhaust pipe, upstream of the diesel particulate matter after treatment device.

(B)    With advance approval of the Executive Officer of the California Air Resource Board, a certifying/verifying APS manufacturer may petition for an alternate compliance strategy other than described in (1)(A)(i) or (ii) in this subsection above. However, this provision is limited to manufacturers that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Executive Officer of the California Air Resources Board, that their alternative strategy is equivalent (or "cleaner"), from an emissions standpoint, compared to the requirement described in (1)(A)(i) or (ii) in this subsection above. As an example, strategies that can use the available electric power infrastructure, instead of solely operating a diesel-fueled APS for engine and/or cab heating and cooling, may be able to use such a strategy to demonstrate compliance with these requirements.

(2)    Fuel-Fired Heaters. Fuel-fired heaters must comply with the applicable California emission standards and test procedures as specified in the Low Emission Vehicle program requirements found in Title 13, California Code of Regulations, subsections 1961(a)(15) and (d), or in Part I.E.1.13 of the "California Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for 2001 and Subsequent Model Passenger Cars, Light-Duty Trucks and Medium-Duty Vehicles," as incorporated by reference in Title 13, California Code of Regulations, section 1961(d). However, the specified requirement that limits fuel-fired heaters from being operated above 40 degrees F does not apply.

(3)    Other Idle Reduction Technologies. Other technologies that will reduce idling emissions may also be used, including the use of batteries, fuel cells, power inverter/chargers for on-shore electrical power, on-shore electric power infrastructure also known as truck stop electrification, and other technologies that produce minimal or no emissions. With the exception of battery and fuel cell powered APSs, power inverter/chargers, and electric power infrastructure, the use of other technologies are subject to advance Executive Officer approval and must be at least as effective in reducing idling emissions as the technologies described in subsections (c)(1), above, or the NOx idling emission standard specified in Title 13, California Code of Regulations, section 1956.8(a)(6)(C). The Executive Officer shall use good engineering judgment and test data to determine if an idle reduction technology provides idling emission controls equivalent to the standards specified in subsection (c)(A) above, or in Title 13, Section 1956.8(a)(6)(C) of the California Code of Regulations.

(4)    Labeling Requirements. 2007 and subsequent model year commercial diesel vehicles equipped with an internal combustion APS meeting the requirements specified in subsection (c)(1) shall have a label affixed to the hood of the vehicle to allow operation of the APS in California. The labels shall meet the requirements specified in section 35.B.4 of the "California Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for 2004 and Subsequent Model Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines and Vehicles," as incorporated by reference in Title 13, Section 1956.8(b) of the California Code of Regulations.

(Added by Ord. No. 3486, effective 12-17-15)

3-04-1030 EXCEPTIONS:

(a)    Except when a vehicle is located within 100 feet of a restricted area, subsection (a)(1) of Section 3-04-1020 does not apply, if the vehicle is equipped with:

(1)    a primary diesel engine meeting the optional NOx idling emission standard pursuant to Title 13, California Code of Regulations, section 1956.8(a)(6)(C); and

(2)    a label meeting the requirements pursuant to section 35.B.4 of the "California Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for 2004 and Subsequent Model Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines and Vehicles," as incorporated by reference in Title 13, California Code of Regulations, section 1956.8(b).

(b)    Subsection (a)(1) of Section 3-04-1020 does not apply for the period or periods during which

(1)    a bus is idling for

(A)    up to 10.0 minutes prior to passenger boarding, or

(B)    when passengers are onboard;

(2)    [Reserved]

(3)    idling when the vehicle must remain motionless due to traffic conditions, an official traffic control device, or an official traffic control signal over which the driver has no control, or at the direction of a peace officer, or operating a diesel-fueled APS or other device at the direction of a peace officer;

(4)    idling when the vehicle is queuing that at all times is beyond 100 feet from any restricted area;

(5)    idling of the primary diesel engine, operating a diesel-fueled APS, or operating other devices when forced to remain motionless due to immediate adverse weather conditions affecting the safe operation of the vehicle or due to mechanical difficulties over which the driver has no control;

(6)    idling to verify that the vehicle is in safe operating condition as required by law and that all equipment is in good working order, either as part of a daily vehicle inspection or as otherwise needed, provided that such engine idling is mandatory for such verification;

(7)    idling of the primary diesel engine, operating a diesel-fueled APS, or operating other devices is mandatory for testing, servicing, repairing, or diagnostic purposes, including regeneration or maintenance of the exhaust emission control device during engine idling when the dashboard indicator light, if so equipped, is illuminated indicating that regeneration or maintenance is in progress;

(8)    idling when positioning or providing a power source for equipment or operations, other than transporting passengers or propulsion, which involve a power take off or equivalent mechanism and is powered by the primary engine for:

(A)    controlling cargo temperature, operating a lift, crane, pump, drill, hoist, mixer (such as a ready mix concrete truck), or other auxiliary equipment;

(B)    providing mechanical extension to perform work functions for which the vehicle was designed and where substitute alternate means to idling are not reasonably available; or

(C)    collection of solid waste or recyclable material by an entity authorized by contract, license, or permit by a school or local government;

(9)    idling of the primary diesel engine, operating a diesel-fueled APS, or operating other devices when operating defrosters, heaters, air conditioners, or other equipment solely to prevent a safety or health emergency;

(10)    idling of the primary diesel engine, operating a diesel-fueled APS, or operating other devices by authorized emergency vehicles while in the course of providing services for which the vehicle is designed;

(11)    idling of military tactical vehicles during periods of training, testing, and deployment;

(12)    idling when operating equipment such as a wheelchair or people assist lift as prescribed by the Americans with Disabilities Act;

(13)    idling of armored cars in the course of providing services for which the vehicle is designed; and

(14)    idling of workover rigs while performing work for which the vehicle is designed.

(Added by Ord. No. 3486, effective 12-17-15)

3-04-1035 RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW:

Nothing in this Chapter allows idling in violation of other applicable law, including, but not limited to:

(1)    California Vehicle Code Section 22515;

(2)    Title 13, Section 2480, California Code of Regulations;

(3)    California Health and Safety Code Section 40720; or

(4)    any applicable ordinance, rule, or requirement as stringent as, or more stringent than, this section.

(Added by Ord. No. 3486, effective 12-17-15)

ARTICLE 5. ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES

3-04-1040 ENFORCEMENT:

This Chapter may be enforced by the Air Resources Board; peace officers as defined in California Penal Code, title 3, chapter 4.5, Sections 830 et seq. and their respective law enforcement agencies' authorized representatives; and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District; and the County.

(Added by Ord. No. 3486, effective 12-17-15)

3-04-1045 PENALTIES:

For violations of Section 2485 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, the driver of a subject vehicle is subject to a minimum civil penalty of 300 dollars and to criminal penalties as specified in the Health and Safety Code and the Vehicle Code. In addition, for violation of any provision of this Chapter, the driver of the subject vehicle shall be guilty of an infraction and shall be punishable as provided in Section 125 of this Ordinance Code.

(Added by Ord. No. 3486, effective 12-17-15)