The Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program (Carl Moyer Program) is named after Dr. Carl Moyer in recognition of his work in improving air quality. The Carl Moyer Program does not pay for compliance with a regulation - instead, it provides competitive grants for the incremental cost of cleaner-than-required engines, vehicles, and equipment. The program focuses on cleaning the air by replacing older heavy-duty diesels with electric, alternative-fuel, or cleaner diesel technologies. 
 
Since 1998, the Carl Moyer Program (CMP) has provided funding to encourage the owners of mobile and stationary sources to go beyond regulatory requirements by retrofitting, repowering, or replacing their engines with newer and cleaner ones. The CMP has been a successful and popular air pollution reduction program. While air pollution regulations continue to be the primary means to reduce air pollution emissions, the CMP plays a complementary role to California’s regulatory program by providing incentives to obtain early or extra NOx, PM and ROG emission reductions. 

The CMP has been funded through a variety of mechanisms since its inception in 1998. The California Legislature funded the first four years of the program. Proposition 40: The California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Act of 2002 provided program funding for the fifth and sixth years. Bills enacted in 2004 (Senate Bill (SB) 1107 and Assembly Bill (AB) 923) provided for continuous funding thereafter. 

Who is Eligible?

Any owner of an eligible heavy-duty on-road or off-road project, public or private, that results in cost-effective NOx, PM and/or ROG emission reductions and operates at least 75% of the time within the South Coast AQMD boundaries. The project must not be required by any federal, State or local rule or regulation and must be in compliance with applicable California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations. To be eligible for CMP funds, projects must meet the criteria described in the 2024 Carl Moyer Program Guidelines and all subsequent advisories to the Guidelines. In addition, projects must meet the cost-effective limits listed in Table 1 below. Once awarded, projects must be fully in operation within eighteen (18) months of contract execution and are required to submit annual reports as specified in the contract. 

Table 1: Current Cost-Effectiveness Limit Criteria Effective October 2024 

What Types of Projects Qualify for the Carl Moyer Program?

The project categories identified for funding under the South Coast AQMD’s 2021 CMP solicitation are:

• On-Road:  Eligible project types include vehicle replacement and repower/conversion projects; on-road retrofit projects will be considered on a case-by-case basis.  Emergency vehicles, including but not limited to prisoner transport buses and fire apparatus, are exempt from CARB regulations and therefore are eligible for CMP funding.  All on-road projects must generate surplus emission reductions and be fully compliant with all applicable fleet regulations.

• Off-Road:  Eligible project types include (a) repower of an existing equipment with a newer emission-certified engine, (b) replacing an older piece of equipment with a new or used equipment with a zero-emission or low-emission engine certified to the current emission standard Tier, and (c) retrofitting an older engine by installing a CARB verified emission control system, such as a particulate filter or diesel oxidation catalyst. All off-road projects must demonstrate compliance with any applicable CARB regulations at the time of application. Off-road equipment categories include, but are not limited to, the following: 

  • Construction equipment such as tractors, loaders, paving equipment, cranes, air compressors, etc., used for construction. 

  • Cargo handling equipment electrification operating at seaports or intermodal rail yards in trade corridors are subject to the Regulation for Mobile Cargo Handling Equipment (CHE) at Ports and Intermodal Rail Yards. Examples of equipment under this category includes container handling equipment, cranes, excavators, yard trucks, etc.

  • Industrial Equipment operating at warehouses. Industrial equipment may include forklifts that are subject to the CARB’s Zero-Emission Forklift Regulation. 

  • Agricultural Equipment such as tractors, UTVs, chippers, hay squeeze, swathers, used exclusively in agricultural or forestry operations. A vehicle used for both agricultural and nonagricultural operations is considered an agricultural equipment, only if over half of its annual operating hours are for agricultural operations.  
  • Portable equipment replacement projects are now eligible for funding under the 2024 CMP Guidelines. Portable equipment with an engine rated at 50 horsepower and greater must demonstrate current registration with or submit a statement of compliance with the Air Toxic Control Measure for Diesel Particulate Matter from Portable Engines Rated at 50 Horsepower and Great (Portable Engine ATCM).  
  • Zero-emission Utility-Terrain Vehicles (UTV) replacement projects of qualified businesses, public agencies, and entities, and nonprofit organizations involved in commercial operations. 
• Marine: Eligible marine projects include vessel replacement projects and repower projects replacing an existing marine engine with cleanest available technology. Marine projects may be subject to the CARB’s Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC) Regulation. 

  • Ship-Side Shore power projects must be surplus to CARB’s At-Berth Regulation or is associated with a zero-emission capable hybrid or zero-emission vessel project. 

• Locomotive projects are subject to the CARB’s In-Use Locomotive Regulation. New locomotives and replacement engines must be certified to Tier 4 standards or cleaner.
• Infrastructure:  The 2017 update to the CMP Guidelines allow funding for infrastructure projects that enable the deployment of alternative, advanced, and cleaner technologies to support the State’s air quality goals. Specifically, projects that install fueling or energy infrastructure to fuel or power a “covered source” are now eligible for CMP funding consideration.  A “covered source” includes heavy-duty on-road vehicles, off-road non-recreational equipment and vehicles, locomotives, marine vessels, agricultural sources of air pollution, and other categories as determined by CARB and South Coast AQMD that are necessary for the state and air district to meet air quality goals. 

How is the Size of a Carl Moyer Program Grant Determined?

The Carl Moyer Program grants are based on the cost-effectiveness and emission benefits of the project.

How will Applications Be Evaluated?

South Coast AQMD staff will evaluate each project based on the cost-effectiveness of NOx, PM10 and ROG reduced, as well as the project’s status with respect to the disadvantaged community and low-income criteria prescribed by CARB. All qualified applications are ranked accordingly by cost-effectiveness (except for infrastructure projects). At least 50 percent of South Coast AQMD’s CMP funds are targeted for projects that meet the criteria of a disadvantaged or low-income community. In limited situations and solicitations, projects will be evaluated on a first-come, first-serve basis. 
 
Each project will be evaluated in accordance with the latest version of the Funding Guidelines for Agencies that Administer California Climate Investments established by the California Air Resources Board, including the CalEnviroScreen tool, to identify those projects that are located within a disadvantaged and/or low-income community. To see if a particular community is within a disadvantaged or low-income community, please visit: 
https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/auctionproceeds/communityinvestments.htm

Cost-Effectiveness Limit

Per 2024 CMP Guidelines, all project awards shall not exceed the project’s incremental cost, funding caps or the maximum cost-effectiveness limits, as applicable. Depending on the project category, a respective cost-effectiveness limit listed in Table 1 would be applied in a single-step cost-effectiveness calculation for each project.  

Useful Links and Resources:

• 2025 Carl Moyer Program Announcement PA2025-03 (PDF, 7MB)

• Carl Moyer Program Guidelines (October 24, 2024)

• Policies and Procedures (PDF, 317KB)
  

• Links to CARB Rules that Affect CMP Eligibility (please check the appropriate website for applicable CARB regulation and compliance dates):

To sign up for vehicle funding program updates, please click here.

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