Portable Power

By way of background, portable equipment 50 horsepower and greater requires a permit from the local air district in which the unit is operating. To lessen the burden (and costs) of reporting in multiple air districts throughout the state, CARB established the Portable Equipment Registration Program (PERP), which enables fleet owners to acquire a statewide portable equipment permit for qualifying portable units. Note that this is a Voluntary Program, and, as such, may set rules and standards independent of local air district rules. However, certain air district rules can take precedence over PERP under specific conditions at project locations.

Under recent PERP revisions, portable fleets are categorized as Small (up to 750 cumulative portable horsepower) and Large (greater than 750 cumulative horsepower).

The Phase Out provisions are shown in the schedule. Note that the schedule applies to permitted engines, either current or expired.

New Permits are limited to Tier 4 Final, Tier 4 Interim Flex, and Tier 3 Flex engines only. No fees are required with the Permit application. CARB will review the application and invoice if/when the permit issues.

Low use is limited to 200 hours per year, and low use hours must be reported annually. Emergency Use Hours remain exempt from the 200 hour Low Use limitation, but must be reported. Emergency Use is clearly defined in the regulation.

ONE FINAL NOTE OF CAUTION

Most large projects, public and private, are requiring emissions reductions in an attempt to maintain as small a carbon footprint as possible. Once again, the burden falls upon contractors to provide the cleanest equipment possible for these projects. Read the Bid and Project Specifications carefully. Most proposed mitigation methods are outlined in those documents. Don't unknowingly fall into the "Tier 4 Only" trap or discover additional local air district requirements for the project after you have been awarded the contract.

LARGE SPARK IGNITION ENGINES (LSI)—OVER 4 UNITS

If you have 4 or more non-diesel (e.g., propane or gas) forklifts in your fleet, you are subject to the LSI annual reporting requirements. See DOORS website for details.