California Code of Regulations
Title 13 - Motor Vehicles
Division 3 - Air Resources Board
Chapter 9 - Off-Road Vehicles and Engines Pollution Control Devices
Article 5 - Portable Engine and Equipment Registration
Section 2460 - Inspections and Testing

Universal Citation: 13 CA Code of Regs 2460

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024

(a) In determining if a portable engine or equipment unit is eligible for registration, the Executive Officer may inspect the portable engine or equipment unit and/or require a source test, at the owner's expense.

(b) Each district shall inspect all registered engines and equipment units for which the district has been designated as the home district pursuant to section 2453(j) above, as specified below:

(1) Within 45 days after the date of initial issuance or renewal of a registration, the owner or operator shall contact the home district to arrange for inspection of the registered engine or equipment unit to be completed within one year of the initial registration or renewal date. If the registered engine or equipment unit shall be operating in a district, other than the home district, the owner or operator may request the home district to arrange for an inspection by the other district.

(2) For portable engines, each home district should conduct no more than 20 percent of the arranged inspections for that district as in-field inspections. All arranged inspections not conducted as in-field inspections shall be conducted as non-field inspections. If a portable engine is found in violation during an in-field inspection, the next arranged inspection for that engine shall be an in-field inspection. This section does not limit the authority of a district to conduct any number of non-arranged in-field or non-field inspections for which no fee is charged.

(3) For registered equipment units operating with registered engines, the owner or operator may not request that the registered engine be inspected at the hourly rate specified in Section 2461.1 for equipment unit inspections. Inspection fees for registered engines are to be paid as listed in item 14 in Section 2461.1.

(4) Arranged inspections for PEPS engines and registered equipment units shall be non-field inspections unless an in-field inspection is requested by the holder of the registration and a reasonable in-field inspection location is arranged with the appropriate district.

(5) The time for an arranged inspection shall be agreed upon in advance with the district and company preferences regarding time of day shall be accommodated within reason. To the extent that an arranged inspection does not fall within the district's normal workday, the district may charge for the off-hour time based on a fee as specified in Section 2461.1.

(6) If an arranged inspection of a registered engine or registered equipment unit does not occur due to unforeseen circumstances, the owner or operator and the home district shall reschedule the arranged inspection no later than 90 days of the initially scheduled inspection. Any unreasonable actions on the part of the owner or operator that prevents the inspection to occur within the specified time frame shall be deemed a violation of this article. Actions taken by the owner or operator that could be deemed "unreasonable" include, but are not limited to:
(A) failing to respond to the district correspondences or other contracts made to schedule the inspection;

(B) failing to ensure that the registered engine or equipment unit is in operation for arranged "in-field inspections" or where the district has provided advance notification to the owner or operator that the registered engine or equipment unit is required to be observed in operation.

(7) The owner or operator may request the scheduling of one or more arranged inspections for multiple engines in order to qualify for an inspection fee discount as specified in section 2461(d). Within 45 days of date of initial issuance of registration or by January 30 of each year for renewals, the owner or operator shall submit a letter of intent including an equipment list and registration numbers to the district to arrange for inspection of multiple engines. The inspections shall be completed within one year after the registration renewal date for each engine inspected. If the fleet owner pays the discounted inspection fee and then fails to qualify for the discount during the actual arranged inspection, then the district may bill the fleet owner for the difference between the discounted inspection fee and the full inspection fee. Upon the request of the district, the fleet shall not be eligible to use the discount in 2461(d) for any subsequent arranged inspections if the fleet failed to comply with the inspection fee discount requirements.

(8) If a registered engine or equipment unit is out of California for one year or more following initial registration or renewal, the engine or equipment unit shall be excused from having the arranged inspection within that period if:
(A) within 45 days after the date of initial issuance or renewal of the registration, the owner or operator submitted a letter to the district noting the registration number of the registered engine or equipment unit and that the engine or unit is out of California for the one-year period; and

(B) upon the return of the registered engine or equipment unit to the State, the owner or operator shall arrange to have the registered engine or equipment unit inspected within 30 days.

(c) After issuance of registration, the Executive Officer or district may at any time conduct an inspection of any registered portable engine or equipment unit in order to verify compliance with the requirements of this article. The district shall not charge the owner or operator an additional inspection fee for that inspection. Source testing of engines for compliance purposes shall not be required more frequently than once every three years (including testing at the time of registration), except as provided in section 2460(e), unless evidence of engine tampering, lack of proper engine maintenance, or other problems or operating conditions that could affect engine emissions are identified. In no event shall the Executive Officer or district require source testing of a portable engine for which there is no applicable emission standard, emission limit or other emission related requirement contained in this regulation.

(d) Testing shall be conducted in accordance with the following methods or other methods approved by the Executive Officer:

Particulate Matter:ARB Test Method 5 with probe catch and filter catch only
VOC:ARB Test Method 100 or U.S. EPA Test Method 25A
NOx:ARB Test Method 100 or U.S. EPA Test Method 7E
Carbon Monoxide:ARB Test Method 100 or U.S. EPA Test Method 10
Oxygen:ARB Test Method 100 or U.S. EPA Test Method 3A
Gas Velocity and Flow Rate:ARB Test Method 1 & 2 or U.S. EPA Test Method 1 & 2

(e) Initial or follow-up source testing of engines to verify compliance with the requirements of this regulation shall not be required for certified compression-ignition engines and spark-ignition engines.

(f) The exemption provided in section 2460(e) shall not apply to source testing of engines for compliance purposes where evidence of engine tampering, lack of proper engine maintenance, or other problems or operating conditions that could affect engine emissions are identified.

1. New section filed 9-17-97; operative 9-17-97 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(d) (Register 97, No. 38).
2. Amendment filed 12-1-99; operative 12-1-99 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(d) (Register 99, No. 49).
3. Amendment of subsections (c) and (d)(1) and amendment of NOTE filed 8-2-2005; operative 9-1-2005 (Register 2005, No. 31).
4. Amendment of section heading and section filed 4-26-2007; operative 4-27-2007 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4 (Register 2007, No. 17).
5. Amendment of subsections (b)(3), (b)(5) and (e) filed 4-26-2007 as an emergency; operative 4-27-2007 (Register 2007, No. 17). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 10-23-2007 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
6. Certificate of Compliance as to 4-26-2007 order, including further amendment of subsections (b)(3) and (b)(5), transmitted to OAL 7-31-2007 and filed 9-12-2007 (Register 2007, No. 37).
7. Amendment of subsections (b)(1), (b)(3) and (b)(5) filed 10-19-2010; operative 10-19-2010 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4 (Register 2010, No. 43).
8. Amendment of subsections (b)(1), (b)(3), (b)(5) and (b)(7) filed 9-24-2018; operative 11-30-2018 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2018, No. 39).

Note: Authority cited: Sections 39600, 39601, 41752, 41753, 41754, 41755, 43013(b) and 43018, Health and Safety Code. Reference: Sections 41750, 41751, 41752, 41753, 41754 and 41755, Health and Safety Code.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. California may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.