Enter the New Year and a New CARB Diesel Emissions Regulation.
Back in August, we broke the news about new CARB inspection and maintenance rules about to appear on the horizon. It’s now official: You’ll need to tow the line on CARB’s Heavy Duty Inspection Maintenance Regulation (HD I/M) program.
This new smoke inspection program is designed to replace the annual diesel emissions smoke test, the PSIP. In other words, you’ll be able to apply your passing HT I/M compliance test to your vehicle’s annual PSIP requirement.
Here are the key takeaways about the HD I/M Program:
• Enforcement begins January 1, 2023, when every vehicle that must comply must be registered in the database. That’s in just a few short weeks!
• Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of over 14,000 pounds must comply. This includes diesel and alternative fuel heavy-duty vehicles operating in California, regardless of whether they are registered within the State or not. Hybrids, commercial vehicles, government vehicles, and privately owned vehicles are not exempt.
• You must be registered and comply with the periodic emissions testing or your DMV registrations will be blocked
What is the HD I/M testing process?
Roadside emissions monitoring devices (REMDs), along with roadside cameras, will take a snapshot reading of your vehicle’s emissions, along with specific info about the vehicle and its owner. Think of passing by traffic cameras that gather data about your vehicle’s capability to pollute instantaneously. Vehicles that are identified as potentially high-emissions vehicles are flagged for further compliance testing.
You’ll know if one of your heavy-duty vehicles is subject to further testing when you receive an official notice to submit to testing (NST) from CARB. This notice requires that vehicle to pass compliancy within 30 days by a CARB HD I/M tester. You’re in the clear once CARB determines that your vehicle is in compliancy.
If you have OBD (on board diagnostics), one of our telematics systems approved by CARB, testing will happen automatically—You won’t need to bother taking your vehicles out-of-service!
Without OBD, you’re in for a longer haul to pass the finish line to compliancy—You’ll need to enlist an HD tester approved by CARB to perform a smoke opacity test and a visual/functional emissions control equipment inspection.
This is only the beginning…
By mid-2023, heavy-duty fleet owners and owner-operators will receive a notice to create accounts in the CARB HD I/M database, verify the vehicles in your fleet, and pay the initial annual compliance fee for each vehicle owned. You’ll have 90 calendar days to accomplish these items once you receive this notice.
If you do not register and comply with periodic diesel emissions testing, your license will be withheld.
We’re only providing a quick summation of the scope of the new CARB HD I/M program here. To take a deeper dive:
• Read our August 2022 article introducing the HD I/M diesel emissions requirements
• Explore specific information introduced by Senate Bill 210 to curb diesel air pollution
• Peruse CARB’s HD I/M regulatory documents
We agree—This is a load of detailed info to digest before the January 1st start-date. Better yet, take the shortcut and contact the Advanced Emission CARB emissions consultants, Stephen Davis and Bob Gaffney, to get the lowdown on this new regulation program. Ask us to guide you through our selection of on board CARB-approved OBD technology so that you’ll cruise through HD I/M testing, too. It just takes one call to (559) 240-6076 to be prepared.
