AECS Answers Your Questions About Ag Mileage Extension Status
The fallout of the Lawson CARB lawsuit prevented small truck companies to delay conforming to emissions requirements. In the Central Coast NOx-Exempt Counties. But did you know that when you operate under the AG Mileage Extension, you could take advantage of a special allowance for retrofits until January 1st of 2023?
Download our AG Extension in NOx Exempt Counties FactSheet.
Why discard your vehicle when you could do a retrofit before January 2023 and gain unlimited mileage and no end date for your vehicle as long as you maintain the DPF?
Agriculture vehicles that clock in less than 10,000 miles per year, without exceeding the prior mileage threshold, may continue to use the Agriculture Mileage Extension. In other words, “Any time a vehicle is currently using the AG extension, they can install a PM filter and transition into ‘NOx w/a Filter’,” according to the CARB Manager of On-Road Compliance Assistance Section for the Truck and Bus Regulation.
A few examples of the transition process might look like:
- I have a vehicle I’m currently using Ag for in 2020. I am worried that I will go over the miles next year, so I install a PM filter in a couple of months, label the vehicle as NOx by the end of the year, and claim NOx with a PM Filter in January.
- I am going to use Ag right up until 2023. I must have the vehicle labeled as NOx and a PM filter installed by 1/1/2023. Then I must report in January of 2023 to claim NOx with a PM filter.
Does this rule affect your fleet operations? It does for “All companies that operate exclusively in the California Air Resource Board’s NOx Exempt Areas of Monterey County, San Benito County, San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County, and Santa Cruz County. “
Here at AECS, we have you covered, providing retrofits throughout this NOx Exempt area for businesses operating under the Ag Extension. Let’s paint a few scenarios to help you navigate CARB compliancy under this extension:
If you are using the Ag Mileage Extension this year and went over the mileage limit, can you get into “NOx w/ a Filter” next year if you get a PM filter this year?
You cannot do this. When a vehicle violates the eligibility criteria for a flexibility option, they can no longer use any flexibility option in the regulation and must meet the replacement requirements. The same holds true for subsequent years through January 2023.
If you are using AG Mileage Extension in 2020 and want to transition into “NOx w/ a Filter” in January 2023, when does the PM filter need to be installed?
The filter must be on the vehicle by January 1, 2023, so that you can report to use the NOx option in January 2023.
When must you report current odometer readings for a transition from the Ag Mileage Extension to “NOx w/ a Filter”?
Report odometer readings during the January that the vehicle is being transitioned.
What other rules govern transitioning from the Ag Mileage Extension to “NOx w/ a Filter”?
The changeover must follow from one year to the next, and you cannot skip a year. In other words, you cannot transition from 2020 Ag to 2022 “NOx w/ a Filter”.
Our in-house emissions consultants, Bob Gaffney and Stephen Davis, are in touch with CARB to clear up the confusion surrounding the Agriculture Mileage Extension. Bring us on board to help you make the successful conversion to “NOx w/ a Filter” status. Contact us for an explanation about the recent CARB regulation updates and to install CARB-compliant retrofits: Call Stephen Davis at (559) 240-6076 or Bob Gaffney at (559) 285-8727.
