The public comment period closed this week for a proposed rulemaking on the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. The Air Resources Board is now sifting through more than 400 comments on the draft changes.
The sweeping backlash has compelled the board to delay a public hearing scheduled for next month on the rulemaking. Instead, staff plan to host another stakeholder workshop sometime in April, before sending a revised proposal to the board.
Provisions relating to dairy digesters, sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and ethanol topped the list of complaints. But Yasser Jaber, vice president at Seagate Produce in Chula Vista, had a separate issue.
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Jaber raised alarms over reducing the number of credits generated by electric forklifts. To qualify for credits, forklifts need meters, which are not standard on this equipment, as they are on cars. He argued that the current level of credits is needed to cover the expense of adding meters and without them, smaller companies could not participate in LCFS.
He also called for more time to implement the change to ensure those companies do not lose credits for potentially up to a year while they try to comply.
CARB is narrowing in on a forklift regulation that could force some processors and packing houses to convert to ZEVs.
