It is true that a single person driving an Alternative Fuel Vehicle can drive in the Car Pool Lane without being ticketed providing the vehicle has a special permit. It is important though to know that State law specifies the type of emissions equivalency that will be allowed the special permit.
As of January 1, 2004, the State of California will allow individuals driving alone in their vehicle to use the Car Pool Lane as long as the vehicle driven meets California’s super ultra-low emission vehicle (SULEV) standard for exhaust emissions. The vehicle must also meet the federal inherently low-emission vehicle (ILEV) evaporative emission standard. The vehicle owner must also apply to the state for the permit that will identify their vehicle as an SULEV. These permits will be available through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for a fee.
Make sure that if a purchase of an Alternative Fuel Vehicle for the purpose of riding in the Car Poll Lane is in your future, that it is confirmed that the vehicle is in fact an SULEV and ILEV, if not the permit for travel in the Car Pool Lane will not be issued.
Re-Refined Oil
The Fleet Services Division has started to use re-refined oil, reclaimed anti-freeze, and certified recapped tires for City vehicles. The division realizes the need to be environmentally friendly, and to conserve natural, as well as save monetary resources.
Re-refining used oil is a process that takes used oil to a point of being cleaner than new oil. There are more steps in the process of re-refining used oil than there are in refining new oil. These steps ensure that the correct amount of additives are included in order that the oil is of a higher quality than the new oil. Re-refining oil saves oil resources and helps to maintain a cleaner environment because the oil is of a higher grade. This reduces the City’s dependence on natural resources.
Because anti-freeze can be reclaimed, it is better for the environment since there is no need to utilize new resources to manufacture new anti-freeze. It is also cheaper to reclaim anti-freeze than it is to purchase it new, therefore, there is a significant savings to the City.
Certified recapped tires again saves precious resources and money while giving a quality product to the City for the operation of the fleet. Recapped tires will be used on all fleet except emergency vehicles because of the intense stresses put upon a tire under emergency operations. The recaps that the City will use will be certified to ensure that they meet all requirements of the Fleet Services Division.
The Fleet Services Division has embarked on this process of using re-refined oil, reclaimed anti-freeze, and certified recapped tires because the end result will be beneficial to the City and the environment.
New Electric Utility Vehicle
The Fleet Services Division of the Public Works Department recently purchased a John Deere E-Gator electric utility vehicle for use in the Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department. The City continues to promote a “Green” community, and to do so by example, by utilizing clean energy. This is a golf-cart type vehicle with a dump body that will allow the employees to do a variety of work applications. It is currently being used at Edward Vincent Park. The vehicle has wide flotation tires that allow it to traverse grassy areas without damaging the turf. The electric motor also allows the vehicle to be used with a minimal amount of noise, keeping the park environment pleasant for the citizens; therefore, eliminating one the City’s petroleum based vehicles that would otherwise be required to perform these tasks. Shown driving the unit in the picture above is Parks, Recreation & Community Services Superintendent Rita Gardner. The employees seem to be happy with its performance, and the Fleet Services Division is happy to promote clean energy.
AQMD Reinstates Major Portions of its Clean Fleet Rules
Following a federal court ruling in May, the Southland's clean air agency will resume enforcement of its clean fleet rules for privately owned fleets under contract to or operated under an exclusive license with public agencies.
The affected fleets include school bus, transit bus, street sweeping, airport ground-access and refuse collection fleets owned and operated by private entities under contract or license to public agencies.
"Privately owned fleets under contract or license to public agencies now have the same obligation to help clean the air as publicly owned fleets," said William A. Burke, Governing Board Chairman of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. "This is a major step toward our goal of reducing smog-forming and toxic air pollution in Southland communities."
Starting Aug. 1, school bus, transit bus, refuse collection, airport ground-access, and street sweeper rules will apply not only to public fleets but also to private fleets under contract to or operating under an exclusive license with state or local public agencies, including the State of California, counties, cities and special districts. AQMD will not enforce its fleet rules as they apply to federal agencies or for private fleets that are not operating under any contracts or licenses with state or local public agencies.
AQMD in May 2004 had suspended enforcement of its fleet rules as they applied to all privately owned fleets following the United States Supreme Court's ruling on the fleet rules. Consequently, private fleet operators will not be subject to enforcement action for any non-compliant vehicles purchased between May 2004 and Aug. 1, 2005.
AQMD has issued an advisory on its website at www.aqmd.gov detailing the reinstatement of portions of its fleet rules. The advisory is the result of a May 6 order by federal District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper, denying a motion by the Engine Manufacturers Association and Western States Petroleum Association that sought to invalidate all applications of AQMD's fleet rules.
In her 24-page opinion, Judge Cooper ruled that the fleet rules, as applied to state and local governments, fall within the market participant doctrine and therefore are not pre-empted by the federal Clean Air Act.
Cooper's order was the latest legal development in a nearly five-year battle over the fleet rules.
In August 2000, following the AQMD's adoption of the first five fleet rules, the Engine Manufacturers Association sued AQMD in federal District Court. The Natural Resources Defense Council intervened in the action as AQMD's co-defendant.
The lawsuit claimed that the rules were pre-empted because they violated Section 209 of the Clean Air Act. That section states that, "No state or any political subdivision thereof shall adopt or attempt to adopt any standard relating to control of emissions from new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines subject to this part."
AQMD argued that its fleet rules did not set emissions standards for new vehicles or engines, but rather placed purchase requirements on fleet operators requiring them to buy the cleanest vehicles commercially available.
Judge Cooper agreed and ruled against the Engine Manufacturers Association in 2001. The Engine Manufacturers Association appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld Judge Cooper's decision. The Supreme Court of the United States then agreed to hear the case. In April 2004, the Supreme Court reversed the lower court's decision and ruled that purchase requirements do not escape preemption under Section 209 of the Clean Air Act The Court went on to note, however, that its ruling did not resolve the validity of the fleet rules, and it remanded the case to Judge Cooper's court to resolve several issues, including "whether some of the fleet rules can be characterized as internal state decisions (and, if so, whether a different standard for pre-emption applies)."
Attorneys for AQMD, supported by a friend-of-the-court brief from the State of California, argued that most applications of the fleet rules fall under the market participant doctrine and therefore are not preempted by the federal Clean Air Act.
Judge Cooper agreed and held that the fleet rules, as applied to state and local governments, are valid procurement requirements, not within the scope of preemption under Section 209.
AQMD's fleet rules, adopted in 2000 and 2001, target primarily diesel-powered vehicles, including transit buses, school buses, trash trucks airport shuttles and taxis, street sweepers and heavy-duty utility trucks. The rules generally require fleet operators to buy clean-fueled models when they replace vehicles or add to their fleets of 15 or more vehicles.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.
City of Inglewood One Manchester Blvd. Inglewood, CA 90301 Phone: (310) 412-5111
