<\/p>\n
A Gilton Solid Waste Management truck picks up garbage in 2013 in Modesto. Garbage trucks are included in the state\u2019s Advanced Clean Fleets plan, and the state is attempting to create a 100% electric governmental fleet. <\/p>\n
Joan Barnett Lee<\/p>\n
Modesto Bee<\/p>\n
Daniel Corcoran runs a water agency spread across the Sierra foothills, and doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s realistic to replace his specialized trucks with all-electric ones.<\/p>\n
That puts him at odds with California regulators\u2019 proposed requirement that 50% of new heavy-duty vehicle purchased until 2030 be zero-emission vehicles. After that, 100% would have to be zero-emission vehicles.<\/p>\n
Corcoran is the director of operations for the El Dorado Irrigation District, a water agency that serves residents from El Dorado Hills up to Pollock Pines.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you drive up to Tahoe, you can see your gas gauge go down. So imagine how that affects our battery, just trying to get to half of our facilities,\u201d he said. The water district veteran is also worried about how unstable access to electricity, such as in the case of a power outage, could affect his agency\u2019s ability to restore water service in an emergency.<\/p>\n
As California\u2019s Air Resources Board considers changes to its Advanced Clean Fleets rules, local government agencies are clamoring to be heard. They say the regulations are burdensome, costly and make for less effective and nimble responses to emergencies. One expert says the state is trying to balance its ambitious clean air goals with the reality of a geographically diverse area and a federal administration that has rolled back<\/a> much of its support.<\/p>\n Over the past two weeks, at least 150 people and governmental entities<\/a>, including the El Dorado Irrigation District, have written letters to CARB asking for the agency to make certain exemptions and changes to its zero-emissions plan. The 15-day listening period ends Friday.<\/p>\n Exemptions for certain heavy-duty vehicles, like the agency\u2019s sewer-cleaning vactor trucks, are \u201creally the only acceptable outcome to the district,\u201d Corcoran said. But there\u2019s no guarantee CARB\u2019s final rules will reflect the desires of municipal governments.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t even know if they would make any changes, to be very direct,\u201d said Mark Neuburger with the California State Association of Counties. \u201cWe hope that they just address our concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n In an emailed statement on Friday, CARB spokeswoman Lindsay Buckley said the board had already added additional flexibilities for state and local government fleets, \u201cwhile maintaining progress towards achieving emissions reduction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing the close of the public comment period, staff will review all submissions and assess the need for any additional changes,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s second term changed the calculus<\/p>\n For decades, California has been aiming to lower its carbon emissions to counter climate change, slowly adding on regulations to push the market in the direction of manufacturing and selling lower-emission vehicles.<\/p>\n In 2023, CARB approved<\/a> its Advanced Clean Fleets rule, which set an aggressive schedule for government fleets to transition to zero-emissions. Daniel Sperling, the founding director of the UC Davis Institute on Transportation Studies, was on CARB\u2019s board at the time the rulemaking was happening. He said that although the regulatory process is complicated, it was what California decided to do.<\/p>\n \u201cAn economist would tell you, you know, just put a tax on diesel fuel or a tax on diesel trucks and let the market figure it out. But our Legislature would never do that,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re left with using these regulatory tools, which are a little clunky and difficult to implement in a way that is fair, effective and timely.\u201d<\/p>\n Since those rules were created, however, Sperling said the federal government has been hostile to California\u2019s electric-vehicle mandates, weakening the state\u2019s forward momentum. Early last year, the Trump administration canceled grants<\/a> intended to expand the nation\u2019s charging infrastructure.<\/p>\n In their letter to CARB sent April 14<\/a>, a coalition of local government representatives, including the California Special Districts Association and the association of counties contends that not only is vehicle-charging infrastructure lacking, but the replacement specialty vehicles aren\u2019t available, and electric vehicles can cost more than twice as much.<\/p>\n They wrote that clean fleets rules would \u201cin effect require state and local agencies to purchase twice the number of vehicles they currently own at double the cost per vehicle, to even attempt to replicate the capabilities of their current fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n Worries about the cost of compliance<\/p>\n In Folsom, questions about how the city will comply with the ZEV regulations are spurring conversations about who decides how city services are handled<\/a>. City officials are contemplating taking decision-making authority out of the hands of voters to streamline the process.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because Folsom is considering contracting out garbage services, instead of converting its whole solid waste-collecting fleet to electric.<\/p>\n However, if it did that, under CARB\u2019s current proposed rules, then it would need to confirm that its contractor is in compliance with the electric-vehicle mandate. That\u2019s another element local governments are fighting.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re essentially reporting on fleet procurement decisions made by private companies,\u201d said Neuburger, of the association of counties, adding that it would be a huge burden on local governments.<\/p>\n For his part, Corcoran said he\u2019s been heartened by his interactions with CARB. He says he feels they\u2019re trying to understand where his water district\u2019s concerns are coming from.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve actually come out \u2014 they\u2019ve looked at our facilities,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve literally driven them up and down the mountain to show them our facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n Sperling said the state and CARB have been working hard to make the transition as palatable and easy as possible for local governments.<\/p>\n \u201cThe tension here is California lost a lot of its authority to do something, and yet the state is very committed to electrification, to climate change mitigation,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so the challenge is, how do you move forward?\u201d<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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