CARB Announces Public Hearing to Consider Proposed Amendments to the Commercial Harbor Craft Regulation

by Connor Dolan, FCHEA

The California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) will hold a public hearing at 9:00 am Pacific on March 24, 2022 to consider the proposed amendments to the Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC) Regulation. If needed, the meeting may run over into the following morning beginning at 8:30 a.m., on March 25, 2022.

At its previous public hearing on November 19, 2021, the Board considered the proposed amendments to CHC, which would implement more stringent requirements for in-use and new CHC, expand the regulatory requirements to vessel categories that were previously exempt, and apply reporting, infrastructure, and other requirements to facilities, such as seaports, terminals, marinas, and harbors that conduct business with CHC.

This March hearing is intended to solicit additional industry feedback, highlight incentive funding opportunities available, evaluate opportunities to streamline the technical feasibility requirements of compliance extensions, and consider a periodic review of regulatory implementation and availability of zero-emission technology in the harbor craft sector.

The meeting agenda and information on how to participate or observe the meeting is available online at: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ma032422. Additional details are available on CARB's rulemaking webpage: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/rulemaking/2021/chc2021.

 IMO Guidelines on hydrogen fuel cells for ships

by Karen Quackenbush, FCHEA

At its September 2021 meeting, the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC 7) approved draft interim guidelines aimed at providing international standard provisions for ships using fuel cell power installations.

The draft interim guidelines cover issues including fire systems and gas/vapor detection. The guidelines are intended to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of electrical and/or thermal energy through the use of fuel cell technology.

The goal of the interim guidelines is to provide an international standard for the arrangement and installation of fuel cell power installations on board ships. Covered aspects include the different aspects from the fuel inlet of the fuel cell space up to the exhaust gas system. For the fuel storage and the fuel supply to the fuel cell space, the specific chapters of the IGF Code applies.

CCC 7 agreed on a work plan for the development of provisions for new low-flashpoint fuels under the IGF Code, including hydrogen, ammonia, LPG and methyl/ethyl alcohols.

CCC 7 is a Sub-Committee; therefore, all decisions concerning rules, regulations and dates are subject to further consideration and approval by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) or by the Assembly. The draft interim guideline for fuel cells is expected to be adopted by MSC 105 in April 2022.

Until requirements for maritime low flashpoint fuels and fuel cell installation are specifically covered by the IGF Code, the “Alternative Design Assessments“ provision allows for new design solutions, such as fuel cells and hydrogen as fuel.

For the full report, please visit: https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/MeetingSummaries/Pages/CCC-7th-session.aspx.

U.S. EPA Proposes Heavy-Duty Truck Emissions Regulation

by Connor Dolan, FCHEA

On March 3, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule to set new standards to reduce pollution from heavy-duty vehicles and engines starting in model year (MY) 2027. The proposed standards aim to significantly reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and set more stringent greenhouse gas (GHG) standards for certain commercial vehicles, including long-haul 18-wheelers, school and transit buses, and work vehicles such as delivery vans and cement trucks.. The intent of this proposed rule is to encourage development and deployment of cleaner engines for, as well as accelerate adoption of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles.

EPA intends to finalize this proposal before the end of 2022 and is currently seeking public input by April 22, 2022. A virtual public hearing is expected in the near-term.

The proposed rule and related materials, including a draft Impact Analysis, Draft Technical Support Document, and Fact Sheet are available online at https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/proposed-rule-and-related-materials-control-air-1.

Federal Aviation Administration Final Report Issued on Unmanned Vehicles Beyond Visual Line of Sight

by Karen Quackenbush, FCHEA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA’s) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), which was formed to advance the regulatory path toward autonomous, safe, and routine BVLOS drone missions, has published its final report.

In order to fly BVLOS today, operators must navigate a lengthy process to seek waivers or exemptions from the FAA. This is why the work of the FAA BVLOS ARC is considered extremely important by the drone industry and its key stakeholders alike.

Five key recommendations from the report are as follows:

  1. Establishing risk levels

  2. Determining right of way

  3. New pilot training requirements

  4. New BVLOS rule

  5. Regulations for third-party service providers

The FAA’s report is available here: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/committees/documents/media/UAS_BVLOS_ARC_FINAL_REPORT_03102022.pdf. Early industry coverage of the report, highlighting the ARC recommendations, can be found here: https://dronedj.com/2022/03/11/faa-bvlos-arc-drone-rules-report/.

Gas Cylinder Compatibility Standard Published

by Karen Quackenbush, FCHEA

The first edition of the following ISO deliverable has been published: ISO 11114-5:2022, Gas cylinders — Compatibility of cylinder and valve materials with gas contents — Part 5: Test methods for evaluating plastic liners.

The document scope is as follows: This document specifies some gas compatibility test methods to evaluate plastic materials suitable for use in the manufacture of composite gas cylinder liners. It is also applicable to the evaluation of the suitability of plastic matrix materials used for Type 5 cylinders.

Some fluids like water, used for cylinders testing, can react positively or negatively when in contact with plastic liners. This compatibility issue is not covered by this document.

The document is available on ANSI’s website: https://webstore.ansi.org/

CHS to Offer Hydrogen Materials Compatibility Webinar

by Karen Quackenbush, FCHEA

The Center for Hydrogen Safety (CHS) is offering a complimentary one-hour webinar on “Material Compatibility Considerations for Hydrogen”, live on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, 10:00am-11:30am EDT.

Participants can learn how to identify material compatibility issues that are often associated with hydrogen exposure and how to reduce the chance of incidents caused by improper selection. This webinar will focus on metallics and polymers, and investigate the interactions with hydrogen that lead to degradation of material properties. Lessons learned from real world service failures will be presented.

For more information and registration, please visit https://www.aiche.org/academy/webinars/material-compatibility-considerations-hydrogen.