Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) It is the
intent of this section to ensure transit service is not adversely affected.
Transit agencies may request an exemption from the zero-emission bus
requirements set forth in section
2023.1. The Executive Officer will
grant an exemption upon request, if the specified criteria in section
2023.4(c) are
met.
(b) A request for exemption
for a particular calendar year's compliance obligation must be submitted to the
Executive Officer by November 30th of that
year.
(c) A request for exemption
must demonstrate as provided below that at least one of the following
circumstances exists beyond the transit agency's control:
(1) Delay in bus delivery is caused by
setback of construction of infrastructure needed for the zero-emission bus. A
transit agency may request an exemption from the requirements of section
2023.1(a)(4) if
it cannot finalize the zero-emission bus infrastructure within two years of the
initial bus purchase and in time to operate the purchased buses after delivery
due to circumstances beyond the transit agency's control.
(A) For purposes of this section,
zero-emission bus infrastructure includes charging stations, hydrogen stations,
and maintenance facilities; and circumstances beyond the transit agency's
control may include:
1. Delays in installing
zero-emission bus infrastructure that would require the transit agency to
purchase new rights-of-way or construct new facilities,
2. Change of a general contractor,
3. Delays obtaining power from a
utility,
4. Delays obtaining
construction permits,
5. Discovery
of archeological, historical, or tribal cultural resources under the California
Environmental Quality Act, or
6.
Natural disaster.
(B) A
transit agency must submit a request for exemption to the Executive Officer by
submitting the following documentation:
1. A
letter from its governing body, and,
2. A letter from the licensed contractor
performing the work, related utility, building department, or other
organizations involved in the project explaining the reasons for delay and
estimating the completion date of the project.
(C) The transit agency may request an
exemption from the zero-emission bus purchase requirements in section
2023.1(a) if the
transit agency can provide documentation that demonstrates the needed
infrastructure cannot be completed within the two-year extension period or in
time to operate the purchased buses after delivery, whichever is
later.
(D) A transit agency may
purchase conventional internal combustion engine buses instead of zero-emission
buses once the Executive Officer grants the exemption.
(2) When available zero-emission buses cannot
meet a transit agency's daily mileage needs.
A transit agency may submit a request for exemption from
the zero-emission bus purchase requirements in section
2023.1(a) if no
battery electric bus can meet the daily mileage needs of any similar bus type
in the fleet by submitting documentation to show that the miles travelled
between charges of all available depot charging battery electric buses cannot
meet the transit agency's daily operational needs for any bus in the existing
fleet.
(A) The request for exemption
must include the following information:
1. An
explanation of why the exemption is needed including:
a. How zero-emission buses that have already
been purchased or placed in service were suitable, and
b. Why the daily mileage range of any
available depot charging battery electric bus is insufficient to meet the
service needs of any conventional internal combustion engine bus in the transit
agency's fleet of the same bus type;
2. A current monthly mileage report for each
bus type in the fleet to show the daily usage for all of the buses of that
type;
3. A copy of the
zero-emission bus request for proposal and resulting bids showing rated battery
capacity that is available for each of the buses when new; and
4. If available, measured energy use data
from zero-emission buses operated on daily assignments in the transit agency's
service which includes, but is not limited to, battery degradation, air
conditioning, passenger loading, grades, and driving behavior that shows
typical energy usage over one month or more of regular revenue
service.
(B) The
Executive Officer will grant an exemption if the transit agency's required
range cannot be met based on its battery electric bus energy use data. If
energy use data is not available for the transit agency, the tested energy use
on the Orange County Bus Cycle described in section
2023(b)(40) will
be used to determine the energy use per mile. If the minimum required range is
higher than eighty (80) percent of the range on available battery electric
buses (using the largest available battery pack), the transit agency will be
granted an exemption from the zero-emission bus purchase requirement.
(C) A transit agency may purchase internal
combustion engine buses instead of zero-emission buses once the Executive
Officer grants the exemption.
(3) A transit agency may request an exemption
if available zero-emission buses do not have adequate gradeability performance
to meet the transit agency's daily needs for any bus in its fleet.
(A) The transit agency must provide the
following information to the Executive Officer:
1. Documentation that shows no other buses in
the fleet can meet the transit agency's gradeability requirements and that the
available zero-emission buses of that bus type cannot be placed into service
anywhere else in the fleet;
2.
Topography information including the measurement of the grade(s) where the
zero-emission buses would be placed in service along with the explanation of
which bus types currently provide these services;
3. A description of the bus types that
currently serve the route(s) in question, and data showing the performance of
conventional internal combustion engine buses of the same bus type that
includes the passenger load, bus speed and grade of slope measured when
operating on the route(s) the zero-emission buses would be placed in
service;
4. An explanation of why
the gradeability of all available zero-emission buses are insufficient to meet
the transit agency's service needs;
5. A copy of the zero-emission bus request
for proposal, specifying the transit agency's required gradeability and minimum
sustained speed, and the resulting bids; and
6. If available, empirical data including but
not limited to grades, passenger loading, and speed data from available
zero-emission buses operated on the same grade to show that available
zero-emission buses are unable to meet the same speed requirements under the
same operating conditions as the same type of conventional bus in the transit
agency's fleet.
(B) A
transit agency may purchase internal combustion engine buses instead of
zero-emission buses once the Executive Officer grants the
exemption.
(4) When a
required zero-emission bus type for the applicable weight class based on gross
vehicle weight rating (GVWR) is unavailable for purchase.
(A) A transit agency may request an exemption
from an immediate zero-emission bus purchase requirement in section
2023.1(a) if no
zero-emission buses are available as described below.
(B) A zero-emission bus type is considered
unavailable for purchase if any of the following circumstances exists:
1. The zero-emission bus has not passed the
complete Bus Testing and not obtained a Bus Testing Report as described in
section 2023(b)(8);
2. The zero-emission bus cannot be configured
to meet applicable requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act;
or
3. The physical characteristics
of the zero-emission bus would result in a transit agency violating any
federal, state, or local laws, regulations, or ordinances.
(C) The request for exemption must include
the following information:
1. A summary of all
bus body-types, vehicle weight classes being purchased with their GVWR, chassis
(if applicable), and the reasons why existing zero-emission buses are
unavailable for purchase;
2.
Current fleet information showing how many zero-emission buses of that bus type
are already in service and how many are on order and a demonstration that any
available zero-emission bus that would meet the purchase requirement has been
purchased and that the zero-emission bus purchase requirement cannot be met
with other zero-emission bus purchases in that year;
3. If the zero-emission bus type and vehicle
weight class to be purchased cannot be adequately equipped to meet applicable
Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, then the transit agency must
submit documentation to show what Americans with Disabilities Act requirement
cannot be met and why the manufacturer cannot meet it by submitting information
from the manufacturer; and
4. If
the zero-emission bus would result in a transit agency violating any federal,
state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance, then the transit agency must
submit a letter from its governing body that details how the physical
characteristics of the zero-emission bus would violate such federal, state, or
local law, regulation or ordinance and how the violation would be avoided with
the purchase of a combustion engine bus of the same type. This letter must
include all relevant citations to state and federal regulatory code
sections.
(D) The
Executive Officer will grant an exemption from the requirements to purchase
zero-emission buses if the criteria of section
2023.4(c)(4)(B)
are met and the information required by section
2023.4(c)(4)(C)
has been provided.
(E) A transit
agency may purchase conventional internal combustion engine buses instead of
such unavailable zero-emission buses for that bus purchase once the exemption
is granted.
(5) When a
required zero-emission bus type cannot be purchased by a transit agency due to
financial hardship. A transit agency may request an exemption from the
zero-emission bus purchase requirements in section
2023.1(a) due to
financial hardship.
(A) Financial hardship
would be granted if a fiscal emergency is declared under a resolution by a
transit agency's governing body following a public hearing, a transit agency
can demonstrate that it cannot offset the incremental cost of purchasing all
available zero-emission buses when compared to the cost of the same type of
conventional bus, or a transit agency can demonstrate that it cannot offset the
managed, net electricity cost for depot charging battery electric buses when
compared to the fuel cost of the same type of conventional internal combustion
engine buses.
(B) The request for
exemption must include the following documentation:
1. Either a resolution by a transit agency's
governing body declaring a fiscal emergency; or
2. Documentation showing a transit agency
cannot offset the initial capital cost of purchasing zero-emission buses,
including:
a. A letter from a transit
agency's governing body declaring the transit agency in good faith has applied
for all available funding and financing options that could be used to offset
the higher capital costs of zero-emission buses and associated
infrastructure;
b. Documentation to
show the transit agency has been denied financing, or financing options are not
available; and
c. Documentation to
show the transit agency cannot offset the higher incremental costs of available
zero-emission buses.
(C) The Executive Officer will grant an
exemption from the requirement to purchase zero-emission buses until the next
bus purchase.
(D) A transit agency
may purchase conventional internal combustion engine buses instead of
zero-emission buses once the Executive Officer grants the
exemption.
1.
Renumbering of former section
1956.4 to section 2023.4,
including amendment of section heading, section and NOTE, filed 1-31-2006;
operative 1-31-2006 pursuant to Government Code section
11343.4
(Register 2006, No. 5).
2. Change without regulatory effect amending
subsection (e)(2)(c) filed 6-16-2006 pursuant to section
100, title 1, California Code of
Regulations (Register 2006, No. 24).
3. New subsection (b)(4) filed
9-7-2006; operative 10-7-2006 (Register 2006, No. 36).
4. Amendment
filed 10-15-2007; operative 11-14-2007 (Register 2007, No. 42).
5.
Repealer and new section filed 8-13-2019; operative 10-1-2019 (Register 2019,
No. 33).
Note: Authority cited: Sections
38501,
38510,
38560,
39002,
39003,
39500,
39600,
39601,
39667,
40000,
43000.5,
43013,
43018,
43100,
43101,
43102,
43104,
43105,
43106,
43701(b),
43801
and
43806,
Health and Safety Code. Reference: Sections
38501,
38510,
38560,
39002,
39003,
39017,
39027,
39500,
39600,
39601,
39650,
39655,
39667,
40000,
43000.5,
43013,
43018,
43101,
43104,
43105,
43701(b),
43801
and
43806,
Health and Safety Code; Sections
233,
350,
545 and
28114,
Vehicle Code; section 5303, title 49, United States Code; and Code of Federal
Regulations, title 49, section
665.13.
