The Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation, developed by the California Air Resources Board, mandates fleets suitable for electrification to reduce emissions. This is achieved through a phased-in use of Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) for targeted fleets and a requirement for manufacturers to exclusively produce ZEV trucks beginning in the 2036 model year. For more information, go to bit.ly/4cuaxgx.
While small government agency fleets in California will not technically be required to purchase zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) until 2027, the Carpinteria Sanitary District (CSD) is already off and running.
Needing to replace its 14-year-old gas-powered CCTV box truck, the CSD purchased a fully electric ZEV van and has been using it to inspect its 45-mile-long sewer system since the beginning of 2023.
“It’s a good fit for us,” says District general manager Craig Murray. “It has a range of just over 100 miles, and we drive it just about every day and charge it up overnight. Our schedule is to inspect the entire sewer system every three years, so it gets a lot of use.” “This is a really perfect application for ZEVs,” he adds.
The vehicle is a Ford E-Transit high-roof cargo van that became available to Carpinteria as a manufacturer demo–a bit of a lucky break, as commercial availability of electric vans was extremely limited at the time due to high demand from large delivery fleets like Amazon and FedEx.
“When one of our local equipment representatives brought us the opportunity, we jumped on it,” Murray says.
Envirosight, one of the industry’s main CCTV equipment manufacturers, built and fully equipped the demo van. The District was able to seamlessly transfer its existing Envirosight camera and reel system to the new van—the same as Carpinteria was using.
“The camera system, computers, monitors, and other equipment are powered by a bank of lithium phosphate batteries that are recharged by roof-mounted solar panels,” Murray explains. “There is plenty of onboard battery capacity to run the camera equipment, safety flashers, and even the air conditioner for a full day of pipeline inspection.”
The cost of the CCTV van, including tax and delivery charges, was about $140,000.
He says his CCTV operators really like the new ZEV van. It’s somewhat smaller than the old truck, making it more nimble around city streets. It is also much quieter, largely because it doesn’t have a gasoline-powered generator, which typically runs all the time, consuming even more fuel and contributing to air pollution. Because CSD utilized the same equipment provider, the District’s operators were very familiar with the software and camera systems, and no special training was necessary.
The new van’s gross vehicle weight is around 9,000 pounds, so it falls within the medium-duty range of the California Air Resources Board’s Advanced Clean Fleet regulatory framework. The District recently uploaded its fleet information to the CARB database and was able to check the ZEV box for this vehicle well ahead of schedule.
“CSD is one of the very first adopters of an all-electric CCTV inspection van in the state,” Murray said. “As more and more public agencies develop their plans for resiliency, vehicles like this will become a key investment in a better future. The technology has arrived.”
Murray continued by saying that the District would rather be driven by its goals of building a better and more sustainable future than by rules and regulations.
As for the future, Murray says his agency will continue to pursue electrification of smaller vehicles like pickup trucks and passenger cars in the near term but will likely wait for the 2027 deadline or beyond before purchasing larger ZEVs.
“Until the market matures, heavier, bigger chassis vehicles, like vacuum trucks, could present challenges in terms of cost, availability, and reliability,” he said. “Like the fire department, our emergency response vehicles need to be available 24/7 and may have to perform for extended periods of time.”
For the time being, however, Carpinteria is pleased to be ahead of the pack in becoming a greener, more sustainable agency.
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