Rules Concerning the Use of Ultra-Low Sulfur Fuel and Emissions Control Technology on City Motor Vehicles

On May 11, 2005, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed Local Law 39 for the year 2005. The law amended the Administrative Code of the City of New York in relation to the use of ultra low sulfur diesel fuel ("ULSDF") and best available retrofit technology ("BART") by city motor vehicles. The law requires that diesel fuel-powered motor vehicles owned or operated by city agencies be powered by ULSDF. The law further requires that a percentage, increasing yearly to 100 percent, of diesel fuel-powered motor vehicles with a weight of more than 8,500 pounds that are owned or operated by city agencies utilize BART or be equipped with an engine certified to the 2007 EPA standard for reducing the emission of pollutants. The law provides that the Commissioner shall make determinations, and shall publish a list of such determinations, as to the BART for reducing the emission of pollutants to be used for each type of diesel fuel-powered motor vehicle affected by the law. DEP went through the Citywide Administrative Procedure Act (CAPA) process and promulgated a list of what constitutes BART in a hierarchical schematic. Diesel Particulate Filters and Diesel Oxidation Catalysts were found to be the best devices based on the EPA and California Air Resources Board for verified technology.