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The California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) will conduct a public hearing at the date and time noted below to consider the proposed amendments to the Commercial Harbor Craft Regulation.
Date: November 19, 2021
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Please consult the public agenda, which will be posted ten days before the November 19, 2021, Board Meeting, for important details, including, but not limited to, the order in which this item will be considered and any appropriate direction regarding a remote-only Board Meeting. If the meeting is to be held in person – in addition to remote access – it will be held at the California Air Resources Board, Haagen-Smit Auditorium, 4001 Iowa Avenue, Riverside, California 92507.
Background
CARB staff is proposing to amend the Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC) Regulation. Since 2009, CHC vessel owners have replaced older engines with newer and cleaner engines, which reduced the emissions of air pollutants including diesel particulate matter (DPM), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), oxides of sulfur (SOx), and reactive organic gases (ROG). After the Current Regulation is fully implemented by the end of 2022, there will be additional needs to reduce emissions from CHC, especially since many CHC operate in or adjacent to disadvantaged communities (DACs), and emission reductions from these vessels will directly benefit these communities experiencing cumulative exposure burden. Additionally, Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-79-20 directed CARB to transition off-road vehicles and equipment to 100 percent zero emission by 2035 where feasible.
The Proposed Amendments would establish more stringent requirements for in-use and new CHC, expand the regulatory requirements to vessel categories that were previously exempt from in-use vessel requirements, and apply reporting, infrastructure, and other requirements to facilities, such as seaports, terminals, marinas, and harbors that conduct business with CHC. The Proposed Amendments would further reduce emissions from CHC by establishing requirements that specified categories of CHC must deploy zero-emission technologies and which categories must adopt cleaner combustion technology. The Proposed Amendments are expected to reduce emissions of PM2.5, DPM, NOx, ROG, and greenhouse gases.
Inquiries concerning the substance of the proposed regulatory action may be directed to the agency representative David Quiros, Manager, Freight Technology Section, at (916) 327-7213 or Firas Abu-Sneneh, Staff Air Pollution Specialist, Freight Technology Section, at (916) 323-1009.
The Notice, ISOR, and all subsequent regulatory documents are available on CARB's Rulemaking webpage.
Written Comment Period & Comment Submittal
In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, interested members of the public may present comments orally or in writing during the hearing and may provide comments by postal mail or by electronic submittal before the hearing. The public comment period for this regulatory action will begin on September 24, 2021. Written comments not submitted during the hearing must be submitted on or after September 24, 2021, and received no later than November 8, 2021. Comments submitted outside that comment period are considered untimely. CARB may, but is not required to, respond to untimely comments, including those raising significant environmental issues. The Board also encourages members of the public to bring to the attention of staff in advance of the hearing any suggestions for modification of the proposed regulatory action. Comments submitted in advance of the hearing must be addressed to one of the following:
Clerks' Office, California Air Resources Board
1001 I Street, Sacramento, California 95814
Please note that under the California Public Records Act (Government Code section 6250 et seq.), your written and oral comments, attachments, and associated contact information (e.g., your address, phone, email, etc.) become part of the public record and can be released to the public upon request.
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