CARB Clean Boat Emissions Override Bill Passes Senate Transportation Committee

Both Republicans and Democrats have given support for a bill to override a recent California Air Resources Board (CARB) mandate, bringing about two rarities in the Capitol: A bipartisan environmental bill, and a Democrat-supported bill that opposes CARB regulations.

Assembly Bill 1122 would override a recent California Air Resources Board (CARB) mandate by not allowing vessel emissions upgrades such as Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs) on vessels before they’re declared safe was passed in the Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday.

AB 1122, authored by Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains (D-Bakersfield) would specifically require a diesel particulate filter that is retrofitted onto the engine of commercial harbor craft to include an override or bypass safety system that ensures that the commercial harbor craft can maintain a safe level of propulsion in the event of an emergency situation. The bill would also require the manufacturer of an override or bypass safety system to design, install, and provide certain documentation regarding the override or bypass safety system, as well as require the owner or operator of a commercial harbor craft that uses an override or bypass safety system to report the use and retain records regarding the use. Finally, AB 1122 would delay the regulatory requirement to install a new engine or retrofit an existing engine in certain harbor craft.

The bill was written in response to a recent CARB regulation that requires harbor craft to have cleaner engines and install Diesel Particulate Filters to reduce pollution. However, the ruling brought about multiple issues. One of the biggest is that DBFs simply do not exist for certain types of boats and are currently not close to being developed. Another is that U.S. Coast Guard said that they would not be enforcing the new CARB regulations, essentially making CARBs regulations powerless, as well as highlighting how CARB ignored safety letters from the Coast Guard. Safety concerns over installing untested DPFs have also alarmed many, saying that it risks hurting vessels. Finally, if CARB regulations go as is, install by dates could significantly reduce the number of useable harbor craft in the state, hurting both the industry and the state economically.

Director of State Advocacy for the American Waterways Operators (AWO) Kyle Burleson said in Sacramento this week that “We are asking that before DPFs are required to be installed that a standard safety process is followed. Whenever new equipment is installed on a vessel, a third-party auditor vets the product to ensure it is safe and will not catch fire under duress. For whatever reason, CARB has bypassed these safety experts.

“In our 80-year history, our trade association has never asked a legislature to intervene to protect lives onboard a vessel, but that is what is needed because CARB did not act before and we do not expect them to prioritize mariner and workplace safety in the future.”

The bill passed the Senate Transportation Committee this week 14-0 with one abstention, paving the way for a likely passage later this year.

“CARB got caught showing that they didn’t know what they were doing,” explained lawyer Laurie Doggett, who has helped in many cases concerning environmental laws for ocean craft, to the Globe on Friday. “The CARB laws are saying to install technology that either doesn’t exist or is potentially harmful to boats. This bill went right past politics and went based purely on common sense. Maritime groups were essentially pleading the legislature to not have them install these things because they didn’t want to die.”

AB 1122 is expected to be heard next in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.