Innovations for diesel vehicles stalled
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On diesels, the system Roberts has developed can yield 92% reductions in NOx and 96% in particulate matter, mainly soot, he claims.
That doesn't mean much until Roberts can get his test results "verified," to use the official term, by the state Air Resources Board and federal Environmental Protection Agency.
"Without verification, you really don't have anything," Roberts said. "ARB is doing everything they can, but they're somewhat overwhelmed and understaffed."
State air board officials declined to comment on the status of their review, or even to confirm that one was underway. They cited an agency policy to shield such information from business competitors.
Roberts said he began the process two years ago and hopes to complete it next spring. At present, he said, one of the devices is installed on a Santa Monica garbage truck for a 1,000-hour durability test, its last major hurdle.
In the meantime, without verification, air district officials say they can't promote add-on control devices like the one Roberts is promoting.
So their new ozone plan focuses instead on a more expensive option. Under the plan, diesel owners would be paid to replace their vehicles with new, less-polluting models. Where that cash would come from is not yet clear. Nester says only that the air district is "working very diligently" to find the money.
The district may yet include retrofits in its ozone strategy. But if it does, they will likely be part of a proposed fast-track program consisting of "measures that cannot currently be defined" and are not included in the official, federally mandated ozone plan.
"This is the first of a lot of plans to come," Nester said. "We're going to be pushing, and we're looking more closely to see what we can do with retrofits for trucks."
The pressure is on to cut emissions from old diesel engines. But how?
Beginning in 2010, federal standards will require new diesel engines to run 90% cleaner than 2004 models. As a result, every time a new truck replaces an old one, emissions drop significantly no matter what the district does.
But diesel engines can last 20 years or more and can be driven more than a million miles. So even with the new standards, old engines will continue to pollute the Valley's air until they are junked.
The Valley ozone plan aims to speed up that turnover from old diesels to new ones. But the price is high.
To replace 28,000 old trucks, about half the current population, would cost $4.2 billion, or $150,000 per truck, between 2010 and 2023, the district estimates. In contrast, Roberts estimates that his device can be installed for $25,000 to $35,000 per truck.
In fact, in its ozone plan, the district calls pollution-control retrofits the "most cost-effective incentive option" for reducing diesel truck emissions. But having said that, district officials didn't include the cost comparisons in the plan.
Instead, they cited the drawbacks. Chief among them was "disinterest by the public in installing retrofit devices." In other words, opposition from diesel vehicle owners, based on past projects using more primitive devices.
"The disadvantages were so overwhelming that I think our staff felt like it was really not a viable approach," Nester said.
It's not clear how widespread that opposition is, however.
Fresno trucking company owner Jim Ganduglia, chairman of the California Trucking Association's environmental policy committee, says he's mystified by the district's talk of industry opposition.
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