PERP UPDATE: More fees for nothing

The biggest worry for contractors isn't what Caltrans' budget looks like or even the decline in the housing market — the biggest worry is what the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has done during the past year and what it might do in the near future. The two big topics for contractors are what CARB has been up to regarding portable equipment and planned off-road diesel regulations.

PERP program reopened
CARB reopened the statewide portable equipment registration program (PERP) on an emergency basis December 7, 2008, but kept two-thirds of the engines in this equipment class locked out by refusing to allow Tier 0 units.

These engines are ubiquitous, used by every trade. They power equipment like welding units, wood chippers, diesel piledriving hammers, service rigs, compressors, abrasive blasting operations, concrete batch plants, sand and gravel screens, rock and pavement crushing equipment and recycling operations, tub grinders and trommel screens, dredges on boats or barges, generators, and trash pumps. They are used as secondary engines on cranes, concrete pumps, drill rigs and more.

Led by Southern California Contractors Association (SCCA), Mobile Crane Operators Group(MCOG) and the Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition (CIAQC), the equipment industry will be back before CARB at its March meeting, once again asking that owners of Tier 0 equipment be allowed to register and legally operate their units.

This is especially important since the South Coast Air Quality Management District (all of Orange County and most of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties) adamantly refuses to allow this engine category into their district program. The agency admits it has registered only 27,000 of these units. They say they think they have 50 percent of this equipment in their program; the industry thinks they have less than 20 percent.

In 2010, CARB regulations will also require the registered owners of portable engines to replace Tier 0 equipment with new Tier 3 engines — which will cost our industry at least $300 million.

More fees for nothing
CARB acknowledges that it is unable to quantify any environmental benefit from this new regulation, and admits their outrageous fees will cost the industry tens of millions over the next five years, mostly through record-keeping requirements.

The new regulations require installation of hour meters on all of this type of equipment, and owners are required to tell CARB when these units are in place. CARB estimates the hourmeters alone will cost the industry $876,000.

The records will be used to create reports that will have to be kept for a minimum of five years, just in case CARB should ask for them; again, no environmental improvement, but a big increase in cost of operation — CARB admits these record-keeping requirements will cost contractors at least $400 per unit per year.

Many contractors think they will have to hire someone just to stay on top of these requirements. Over five years CARB says record-keeping will cost the industry $41.2 million. To top it off, if a contractor moves certain types of equipment to a new location for more than five days, they will have to notify the local air district — no reason — but it will give new local inspectors something to do.

For more information, contact Mike Lewis, Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition, (626)858- 4611 or email mike@lewisandco.net.