Redding Record Searchlight: 120 people get engines registered
Official: 200 may need to replace diesel pumps
About 120 farmers and ranchers in Tehama County had registered their
standing diesel-burning equipment by a March 1 deadline under new state air
pollution controls.
The $33 registration was the first step for owners of stationary diesel
engines that are 50 horsepower or more. County Air Pollution Control Officer
Alan Abbs has estimated that as many as 200 local farmers and ranchers will
eventually have to spend thousands of dollars to replace the diesel pumps
they use to irrigate their land.
So far, Tehama has seen better compliance than have some other counties,
Abbs said.
Only a handful of people in Shasta County had registered their engines as of
March 1, while about 300 Butte County residents had done so, he said.
However, the state has extended the deadline for local air districts to
implement their registration programs until September, The county Air
Pollution Control District won't charge late fees or send out late notices
to engine owners before then, Abbs said.
Tighter restrictions on particle emissions will require retrofits or
replacements of about 11,000 standing diesel engines statewide. The work
must be done by 2012 for some engines and 2016 for others.
The costs could range from about $10,000 for a 55- or 60-horsepower engine
to as much as $50,000 for larger pumps that are between 200- to
250-horsepower, Abbs has said.
Registration in Tehama County will cost farmers and ranchers $33 a year for
each engine they use.
The new particle-emissions limits and other requirements for stationary
diesel engines were approved by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on
Nov. 10, 2006.
While most of the stationary engines are used to power irrigation pumps,
others run agricultural wind machines and generate power for other purposes
during electricity failures or in remote areas, according to the agency.
The new rules come as Tehama County learned earlier this month that it was
one of hundreds of U.S. counties that failed to meet the Environmental
Protection Agency's new standards for ozone in the air.
The new EPA standard lowers the allowable concentration of ozone in the air
to no more than 75 parts per billion. The previous standard was 80.
According to air monitoring data collected by the EPA from 2004 to 2006,
Tehama County registered 83 parts per billion, compared to 112 in Los
Angeles and Riverside counties and 121 in San Bernardino.
Abbs said last week that a non-attainment listing for Tehama County could
prevent some stationary diesel engine owners from qualifying for certain
exemptions.
