If you’re planning on heading into California anytime soon, your truck better be CARB compliant, or you may face a hefty fine.
Foster Enterprises, an Ontario, California-based reefer carrier, learned that the hard way this week. The carrier is the first to receive a court-imposed fine under the Transport Refrigeration Unit (TRU) regulation.
Foster Enterprises runs 32 refrigerated trucks, most of which have engines from the 1980s and 1990s.
“All business owners should pay attention to this case,” said ARB Enforcement Chief Jim Ryden. “This company actually had to pay twice – once to comply with the law, and then again as a penalty. Had the owners complied originally, they would have saved us and themselves significant time and money, and helped to keep a level playing field for their colleagues and competitors.”
Foster will pay $200, 000 of the fine and the rest will be forgiven so long as the company maintains CARB standards.
“The ARB originally offered to settle the case for much less than the ultimate penalty. Because the company refused and continued to operate the high-polluting TRUs, ARB referred the matter to the Attorney General for prosecution. Finally, months after the deadline and in order to avoid a trial, the business owners sold their non-compliant units and leased cleaner TRU trailers, about 8 months later than their competitors,” ARB stated in a press release.