Farmers and ranchers are encouraged to stay on top of notices from the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Director of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs for Western United Dairies, Paul Sousa explained that one of their members recently had a potential issue related to the Truck and Bus Rule. Phasing out of pre-2009 trucks is complete, but there are allowances for trucks that qualify for a Low Use Exemption. Paul said a dairy had received a Notice of Audit letter from CARB, asking for verification that the truck was staying under the 1,000-mile annual limitation.
“It wasn’t a problem. This truck really was a low-use truck. It stays on the farm and is used very, very little. Way under the thousand miles. So, I worked with the dairy and submitted a picture of the odometer of that truck. CARB got back to us and said it wasn’t good enough,” Sousa explained. “They wanted us to include the letter that CARB had sent, that Notice of Audit, in the picture to show that we weren’t using an older photo to make the odometer reading work.”
Once a second picture was sent, Sousa said that everything was fine and that the dairy was in compliance with the Truck and Bus Rule requirements. However, a few days later the dairy received another letter, this time a Notice of Violation, which carries a $10,000 fine. Once Sousa contacted CARB, “basically their response was those two documents must have crossed in the mail.” An email of the second photo CARB had asked for was sent prior to the deadline. CARB however did not wait for the deadline and sent the Notice of Violation beforehand.
“Sending out the letter on the day that the response was due was a little aggressive, or a lot aggressive. So, just don’t wait. If the dairy hadn’t responded until the day of the deadline, they could get this letter and potentially have been subject to a $10,000 fine for being a couple of days late in submitting the photo,” Sousa noted. “So, if you get something in the mail from CARB, if it’s a Notice of Audit letter for your low-use exemption truck, don’t let that sit off to the side for too long.”
Listen to Sousa’s interview below.
Brian German
Ag News Director / AgNet West