TORONTO (April 25, 2003) — Ontario truck fleets that have been on their best environmental behaviour will now be able to cut annual Heavy Duty Drive Clean expenses in half.

Ontario’s Minister of Environment Chris Stockwell has endorsed a three-year old Ontario Trucking Association proposal that would see a reduction in the frequency of the mandatory test from every year to every two years for trucks that pass a tougher emissions test. Ontario is the only province to operate a periodic diesel emissions program.

Previously, HDDCP operated under the North American testing standard for opacity pass cut-points of 40/55 – 40 per cent for vehicles 1991 and newer, and 55 per cent for vehicles 1990 and older. The test now becomes stiffer, with the cut-points changed from 40/55 to 35/45. The MOE estimates this will slightly increase the failure rate for all trucks by 0.6 per cent), from 4.4 per cent. The government also announced that it will further amend the cut-points to 30/40 in April 2005. A truck will qualify for biennial testing if it records an opacity reading of less than 20 per cent — the point when emissions become invisible to the human eye.

The changes, which will take effect April 2004, makes the mandatory periodic testing requirements more cost-effective and resolves some long-standing concerns over the effectiveness and fairness of the program, the OTA says. The truck association has long criticized the regulation for testing trucks every year while cars are tested every two years. Drive Clean also capped the cost of a test for cars but not for trucks. The OTA has also been lobbying the government to recognize that heavy trucks manufactured within the last five years are passing the current Drive Clean test by almost 99 per cent, which OTA says raises questions over the cost and effectiveness of the program.

However, MOE’s view has been that the program is working and that the behaviour of some fleets with regards to maintenance practices has improved because of the program. It estimates that the cost-savings to the heavy-duty diesel sector will be in the neighbourhood of $11 million per year. If downtime is added, the savings could top $20 million.

“This is a strong incentive for carriers to meet the new opacity standards”, said OTA president David Bradley in a press release, adding that is he’s encouraged that the entire program will be reviewed again in 2006, which happens to coincide with the introduction of the smogless 2007 model year truck engines.