California State Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Standards;
Notice of Within-the-Scope Determination for Amendments to California's
Low Emission Vehicle Standards (``LEV II'')
[Federal Register: April 28, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 81)]
[Notices]
[Page 22034-22036]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28ap05-72]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[AMS-FRL-7905-3]
California State Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Standards;
Notice of Within-the-Scope Determination for Amendments to California's
Low Emission Vehicle Standards (``LEV II'')
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice regarding within-the-scope determination.
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SUMMARY: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) requested that EPA
confirm CARB's finding that two sets of
[[Page 22035]]
follow-up amendments to its LEV II regulations, which were approved by
the CARB Board on November 15, 2001 and December 12, 2002,
respectively, are within-the-scope of an existing EPA waiver of federal
preemption. In a separate request, CARB requested EPA to grant a full
waiver for a particular provision contained in one of these sets of LEV
II amendments, and thus to not include that provision as part of the
within-the-scope request. EPA in this notice has made the requested
confirmation that the amendments in CARB's within-the-scope request are
within-the-scope of the existing waiver. EPA will in a subsequent
Federal Register notice consider the request for a full waiver for the
separate provision.
DATES: Any objections to the findings in this notice regarding EPA's
determination that California's amendments are within-the-scope of a
previous waiver must be filed by May 31, 2005. Otherwise, at the end of
this 30-day period, these findings will become final. Upon receipt of
any timely objection, EPA will consider scheduling a public hearing to
reconsider these findings in a subsequent Federal Register notice.
ADDRESSES: Any objections to the within-the-scope findings in this
notice should be filed with David Dickinson at the address noted below.
The Agency's Decision Document, containing an explanation of the
Assistant Administrator's decision, as well as all documents relied
upon in making that decision, including those submitted to EPA by CARB,
are contained in the public docket. The official public docket is the
collection of materials that is available for public viewing. The EPA
Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 to 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number
for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number
for the Air and Radiation Docket is (202) 566-1743. The reference
number for this docket is OAR-2004-0057. The location of the Docket
Center is the Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room
B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. Copies of the
Decision Document for this determination can also be obtained by
contacting David Dickinson as noted below, or can be accessed on the
EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality Web site, also noted below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Dickinson, Attorney-Advisor,
Certification and Compliance Division, (6405J), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Telephone: (202) 343-9256, Fax: (202) 343-2804, E-Mail:
Dickinson.David@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Electronic Copies of Documents
Electronic copies of this Notice and the accompanying Decision
Document are available via the Internet on the Office of Transportation
and Air Quality (OTAQ) Web site (http://www.epa.gov/OTAQ). Users can
find these documents by accessing the OTAQ Home Page and looking at the
path entitled ``Chronological List of All OTAQ Regulations.'' This
service is free of charge, except for any cost you already incur for
Internet connectivity. The official Federal Register version of the
notice is made available on the day of publication on the primary Web
site (http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-AIR/).
Please note that due to differences between the software used to
develop the documents and the software into which the documents may be
downloaded, changes in format, page length, etc. may occur.
Docket: An electronic version of the public docket is available
through EPA's electronic public docket and comment system. You may use
EPA dockets at http://www.regulations.gov/ to submit or view the public
comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official
public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that
are available electronically. Although a part of the official docket,
the public docket does not include Confidential Business Information
(CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Once in the edocket system, select ``search,'' then key in the
appropriate docket ID number. \1\
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\1\ CARB's ``first'' set of LEV II follow-up amendments, which
included the ``cleaner federal vehicle'' provisions, were adopted by
the CARB Board on December 27, 2000, and were covered by EPA's LEV
II waiver published April 22, 2003. The ``second'' set of follow-up
amendments included an amendment to section 1962, title 13, CCR, the
section regarding zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). The LEV II waiver
previously issued by EPA does not include this provision and by
today's decision EPA is also not considering the ZEV provisions. The
second set of amendments also include a provision in a table at
section 1961(a)(1), title 13, CCR, which has the effect of making
the particulate standard applicable to all motor vehicles regardless
of fuel (the previous regulation only applied to diesel-fueled
vehicles). Per CARB's request of December 20, 2004 (see OAR-2004-
0057-0031) EPA is not considering this provision as part of today's
decision.
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II. Second Set of LEV II Amendments
I have determined that these amendments to the CARB's LEV II
regulation are within-the-scope of a prior waiver issued under section
209(b) of the Clean Air Act (Act), 42 U.S.C. 7543(b), granted by EPA to
CARB.\2\ The amendments to the regulations, outlined in CARB's request
letter \3\, and fully described in CARB's submissions, provide for: (1)
An NMOG certification factor to account for carbonyls and a statement
of compliance for meeting the formaldehyde standards in lieu of full
testing; (2) an extension of the generic reactivity adjustment factors
(RAFs); (3) revisions to the emission offset requirements for ``AB
965'' vehicles which allow new vehicles certified to EPA emission
levels (as opposed to CARB's standards) to be averaged into a
manufacturer's fleet mix in California; (4) additional intermediate in-
use compliance standards for light-duty trucks engineered for heavier
duty cycles that have a base payload capacity of 2,500 lbs. or higher,
or for vehicles certified to CARB's optional 150,000 mile standards;
(5) revisions to California's NMOG test procedures; and (6) revisions
to the fleet average NMOG requirements for independent low volume
manufacturers.
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\2\ EPA previously granted CARB a waiver of federal preemption
for the LEV II standards. (68 FR 19811 (April 22, 2003)).
\3\ Docket entry OAR 2004-0057-0002, letter to EPA, from CARB,
dated April 12, 2004.
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In an April 12, 2004 letter to EPA, CARB notified EPA of the above-
described amendments to its LEV II regulations and asked EPA to confirm
that these amendments are within-the-scope of EPA's previous waiver for
the LEV II regulation. EPA can make such a confirmation if certain
conditions are present. Specifically, if California acts to amend a
previously waived standard or accompanying enforcement procedure, the
amendment may be considered within-the-scope of a previously granted
waiver provided that it does not undermine California's determination
that its standards in the aggregate are as protective of public health
and welfare as applicable Federal standards, does not affect the
consistency with section 202(a) of the Act, and raises no new issues
affecting EPA's previous authorization determination.\4\
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\4\ Decision Document accompanying scope of waiver determination
in 51 FR 12391 (April 10, 1986).
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In its request letter, CARB stated that the amendments will not
cause the California standards, in the aggregate, to be less protective
of public health and welfare than the applicable Federal standards.
Regarding consistency with
[[Page 22036]]
section 202(a), CARB stated that the amendments do not raise any
concerns of inadequate leadtime or technological feasibility or impose
any inconsistent certification requirements (compared to the Federal
requirements). Finally, CARB stated that the amendments raise no new
issues affecting the prior EPA authorization determinations.
EPA's analysis confirms CARB's finding that the criteria for these
amendments meeting a within-the-scope designation have been met. Thus,
EPA finds that these amendments are within-the-scope of a previous
waiver. A full explanation of EPA's decision is contained in a Decision
Document which may be obtained from EPA as noted above.
III. Third Set of LEV II Amendments
I have determined that the third set of amendments to the CARB's
LEV II regulation are within-the-scope of a prior waiver issued under
section 209(b) of the Clean Air Act (Act), 42 U.S.C. 7543(b), granted
by EPA to CARB.\5\ The amendments to the regulations, outlined in
CARB's request letter \6\, and fully described in CARB's submissions,
provide for: (1) A change in the allowed maintenance schedule for test
vehicles to account for new full useful life periods; (2) revisions to
the California Label Specifications; (3) revisions to the test cycle
for direct ozone reduction technologies; (4) extending the high mileage
testing requirement for vehicles certifying to the 150,000-mile
emission standards; (5) corrections to the number of ``significant
figures'' to be included in measuring the 50[deg]
F standards; (6)
clarification of onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) requirements
for gaseous fueled vehicles; and (7) various minor changes to the LEV
II regulatory language which have no new substantive effect.
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\5\ EPA previously granted CARB a waiver of federal preemption
for the LEV II standards. (68 FR 19811 (April 22, 2003)).
\6\ Docket entry OAR-2004-0057-0001, letter to EPA, from CARB,
dated April 12, 2004.
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In an April 12, 2004 letter to EPA, CARB notified EPA of the above-
described amendments to its LEV II regulations and asked EPA to confirm
that these amendments are within-the-scope of a previous waiver.
In its request letter, CARB stated that the amendments will not
cause the California standards, in the aggregate, to be less protective
of public health and welfare than the applicable Federal standards.
Regarding consistency with section 202(a), CARB stated that the
amendments do not raise any concerns of inadequate leadtime or
technological feasibility or impose any inconsistent certification
requirements (compared to the Federal requirements). Finally, CARB
stated that the amendments raise no new issues affecting the prior EPA
waiver determination.
EPA's analysis confirms CARB's finding that the criteria for these
amendments meeting a within-the-scope designation have been met. Thus,
EPA finds that these amendments are within-the-scope of previous
authorizations. A full explanation of EPA's decision is contained in a
Decision Document which may be obtained from EPA as noted above.
Because these amendments are within the scope of a previous waiver,
a public hearing to consider them is not necessary. However, if any
party asserts an objection to these findings by May 31, 2005, EPA will
consider holding a public hearing to provide interested parties an
opportunity to present testimony and evidence to show that there are
issues to be addressed through a section 209(b) waiver proceeding and
that EPA should reconsider its findings. Otherwise, these findings will
become final on May 31, 2005.
My decision will affect not only persons in California but also the
manufacturers outside the State who must comply with California's
requirements in order to produce vehicles for sale in California. For
this reason, I hereby determine and find that this is a final action of
national applicability.
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, judicial review of this final
action may be sought only in the United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit. Petitions for review must be filed by
June 27, 2005. Under section 307(b)(2) of the Act, judicial review of
this final action may not be obtained in subsequent enforcement
proceedings.
EPA's determination that these California regulations are within-
the-scope of a prior waiver determination by EPA does not constitute a
significant regulatory action under the terms of Executive Order 12866
and this action is therefore not subject to Office of Management and
Budget review.
In addition, this action is not a rule as defined in the Regulatory
Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601(2). Therefore, EPA has not prepared a
supporting regulatory flexibility analysis addressing the impact of
this action on small business entities.
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, does not
apply because this action is not a rule, for purposes of 5 U.S.C. 804(3).
Finally, the Administrator has delegated the authority to make
determinations regarding waivers under section 209(b) of the Act to the
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
Dated: April 21, 2005.
Jeffrey R. Holmstead,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 05-8529 Filed 4-27-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P