Landscape Equipment Ban

Last week, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved an amendment to the Small Off-Road Engine (SORE) Regulations which effectively bans the sale of all carbon-emitting landscape equipment beginning in 2024. As passed today, the updated SORE regulation would allow users of gas-powered landscape equipment to continue to use their equipment. However, it would only allow zero-emission equipment to be sold starting in the model year 2024. These recently updated regulations are part of the state’s attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. California also aims to mandate that 100% of in-state sales of new passenger cars and trucks are zero-emission by 2035. Under a special exemption to the Clean Air Act, California can create its own regulations relating to emissions. No other state can do the same. Though CARB has issued the regulations, the rules can’t take effect until the EPA approves the waiver – a process that can take many months to finalize, according to the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP). In light of the news, NALP released the following statement: The landscape industry shares Governor Newsom and other California policymakers’ desire to reduce carbon emissions as quickly as possible. Still, we are disappointed that CARB has decided to move forward with the 2024 timeline despite the information presented by the landscape industry and other interested stakeholders that the battery-powered equipment currently on the market isn’t sufficient for high-volume commercial use. The NALP statement continues: By its own calculations, CARB could have allowed for a slightly longer transition, ...