Just a week before President Trump’s inauguration, California Air Resources Board Executive Director Steven Cliff wrote to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw the board’s waiver to broadly enforce its Advanced Clean Fleets rule.
Yet because state and local fleet ACF implementation does not require federal approval, California’s local agencies in rural and agricultural service territories must still comply with ACF — which includes drayage and high-priority fleets. Starting Jan.1, 2027, the rule requires 100% of newly purchased medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to be zero emissions.
The rule’s implementation schedule has been in effect since Jan. 1, 2024. And during a Jan. 30 meeting, CARB staff reiterated their commitment to educating on zero emissions vehicles through future campaigns.
Nick Blair, senior policy advocate with the Association of California Water Agencies, is continuing to work with CARB to help his member agencies prepare for compliance. ACWA’s membership covers roughly 90% of water delivered to cities, farms and commercial users across the state.
He noted that public water agencies vary greatly by operation, whether that be their topography or access to electricity. Blair is part of CARB’s Truck Regulation Implementation Group, which helps advise ACF implementation and identifies roadblocks to compliance.
He said the group consistently raises the need for members to be well informed of new ZEVs as they’re made available to purchase.
“We do all that we can to ask for the assurances and confidence that oncoming zero emission vehicles can meet our fleet's needs,” he said.
Without needing to consider drayage and high-priority fleets, TRIG is shifting focus to educating state and local government fleets on best available technology, while dispelling rumors about the board’s overall emissions reduction targets. Jesus Martinez-Ramirez, Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency’s fleet supervisor, asked that CARB staff make a concerted effort to remind government fleets that they still need to comply, noting that headlines mentioning the rescinded ACF waivers have caused confusion.
Staff expressed their frustration after repeatedly seeing misinterpretations that the board is “giving up” on clean diesel efforts. They told TRIG meeting participants that they’re making their best effort to dispel misinformation and ensure everyone is keeping up with the state’s goals, regardless of voluntary or mandated participation.
Martinez-Ramirez added that CARB should notify state and local agencies about future compliance workshops related to AB 1594, a bill introduced by former Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia to authorize replacement utility-specific vehicles for emergency scenarios.
“I think the recent fires really helped highlight the challenges that come with emergency response,” he said.
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Chris White, Frontier Energy Inc. senior manager and TRIG co-chair, said now is a good time for CARB to suggest a return to the implementation planning phase for Advanced Clean Trucks and private industry exempted fleets. She mentioned action items such as assessing electricity availability and gauging where fleets regularly take fuel stops will help in case they are required to comply under future CARB regulation.
She also floated the idea of working with major utility providers – PG&E, Southern California Edison, Sacramento Municipal Utility District – to advise technical support for their fleet operators and keep things on message.
Bradley Smith, a fleet industry consultant, said many of his high-priority clients feel they can’t pull back because they already started toward ACF compliance and have begun infrastructure projects. On the state and local government side, Smith suggested sending out TRIG ambassadors who are not CARB staff to fleet trade shows. He thinks it will help clear speculation about ACF.
CARB recently submitted a budget change proposal, soliciting $3.5 million to fund positions tied to the state and local government ACF implementation and for drayage and high-priority fleets voluntarily complying.
More rural agencies are typically serving a lot more square mileage or rougher topography, which raises concerns over a lack of charging infrastructure currently available across the state.
“Charging needs to be able to easily overlap with what our members’ existing fleets do on a day-to-day basis … maybe they're out there for a day or two dealing with an emergency, and then they need to be able to charge so that they can continue out in the field,” Blair said.
He said that an additional concern for members is that purchasing vehicles with less-tested technology will create risks for first-time users, adding that traditional medium- and heavy-duty fleet vehicles have a proven track record.
CARB spokesperson Lynzie Lowe told Agri-Pulse that public agencies in low-population counties can delay ZEV purchases until 2027. That covers 25 of California’s 58 counties.
She reiterated that the board will execute a “comprehensive outreach program to inform state and local government agencies of the ACF requirements” via email, in-person meetings, webinars and paid advertising.
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