California Switches to New ULSD Fuel
California’s 1.2 million diesel engines emit less pollution as of September 1, 2006, when the state completed its turnover to the nation’s cleanest diesel fuel. The switch to new Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) fuel was in preparation for new, cleaner-operating, heavy-duty trucks equipped with advanced emission control systems that debut January 2007.
Chairman of the Air Resources Board (ARB), a department of the California Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Robert Sawyer says, “This new diesel fuel allows us to proceed with our plans to cut diesel emissions by 85 percent in 2020 and to meet Governor Schwarzenegger’s goal of cutting air pollution by one-half.”
The switch to ULSD has been planned for the past year as federal and state governments, refiners, environmentalists and businesses prepare for the introduction of clean-burning diesel big rigs on January 1, 2007.
Those new vehicles will meet the tightest emission standards ever set for heavy-duty trucks and buses and require very low sulfur fuel to operate properly.
Some California refiners have been producing some ULSD for several years. That limited amount of ULSD allowed the ARB to develop rules requiring school and transit buses, as well as garbage trucks, to use ULSD.
