California Pushes Cleaner Air

Warehouses and transportation companies in California are facing the most aggressive environmental regulations this ecology-minded state has ever experienced, and every link in the international supply chain will feel the impact.

"From here on out, it's going to be about reducing carbon," said Patty Senecal, director of California government affairs for the International Warehouse and Logistics Association. She addressed the Los Angeles Transportation Club Tuesday.

California in the 1990s was the center of efforts to reduce pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide and particulate matter. NOx, SOx and PMs present health risks such as respiratory illnesses and cancer.

The state has now turned its attention to its carbon footprint, which involves greenhouse gases that are believed to contribute to global warming. An estimated 75 percent of a company's carbon footprint is due to transportation, so the supply chain is the primary target in California's effort, Senecal said.

The Global Warming Solutions Act, or Assembly Bill 32 as it is known locally, was signed in 2006 and sets progressively stricter deadlines for reducing carbon emissions from every aspect of a company's operation.

"This is moving at an incredible pace," Senecal said. In 2010, California must reduce its carbon emissions back to 2000 levels. By 2020, emissions must be rolled back to 1990 levels, and by 2050 the current level of carbon emissions must be reduced by 80 percent.

California regulators intend to reach these goals primarily by reducing vehicle miles traveled, improving fuel efficiency in all modes of transportation and burning cleaner fuel.

For example, the California Air Resources Board has a timeline for replacing old drayage trucks with 2007 model and younger trucks. The plan is similar to the Los Angeles-Long Beach clean-trucks programs, though the deadlines are not quite as strict. However, CARB's drayage plan will also cover the Port of Oakland and rail yards within 80 miles of ports.

Trailers will also be affected by new regulations that closely follow the federal Environmental Protection Agency's SmartWay guidelines. EPA's guidelines include low-resistance tires and aerodynamic trailers. They are voluntary under the SmartWay program, but these measures will be mandatory in California.

Out-of-state trucks, as well as trucks that enter the state from Mexico and Canada, will be subject to California's regulations for trucks and domestic 53-foot trailers. Forty-foot marine containers are exempt.