California State Nonroad Engine Pollution Control Standards; In-Use Heavy-Duty Vehicles (As Applicable to Yard Trucks and Two-Engine Sweepers); Opportunity for Public Hearing and Comment

Margo Tsirigotis Oge
August 21, 2012

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50502-50504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20499]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL 9716-9]


California State Nonroad Engine Pollution Control Standards; In-
Use Heavy-Duty Vehicles (As Applicable to Yard Trucks and Two-Engine 
Sweepers); Opportunity for Public Hearing and Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Opportunity for Public Hearing and Comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has notified EPA 
that it has adopted and subsequently amended emission standards 
applicable to yard trucks powered by off-road engines and the auxiliary 
engines on two-engine sweepers. By letter dated March 2, 2012, CARB 
submitted a request seeking EPA authorization of these standards under 
section 209(e) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. 7543(e). This 
notice announces that EPA has tentatively scheduled a public hearing 
concerning California's request and that EPA is accepting written 
comment on the request.

DATES: EPA has tentatively scheduled a public hearing concerning CARB's 
request on September 20, 2012 beginning at 10:00 a.m. The hearing will 
be held at 1310 L St NW., Washington, DC 20005. Parties wishing to 
present oral testimony at the public hearing should provide written 
notification to David Dickinson at the address noted below. Should you 
have further questions regarding the hearing, please contact David 
Dickinson or you may consult the following Web site for any updates: 
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cafr.htm. If EPA does not receive a request for 
a public hearing, then EPA will not hold a hearing, and instead 
consider CARB's request based on written submissions to the docket. Any 
party may submit written comments by October 22, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2012-0335, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov.
     Fax: (202) 566-1741.
     Mail: Air and Radiation Docket, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2012-0335, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please include a total 
of two copies.

[[Page 50503]]

     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, Public Reading Room, EPA 
West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20460. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal 
hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for 
deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2012-0335. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or email. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an email comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your email address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Parties wishing to present oral testimony at the public hearing 
should provide written notice to David Dickinson at the address noted 
below. If EPA receives a request for a public hearing, EPA will hold 
the public hearing at 1310 L St. NW., Washington, DC 20005 at 10:00 
a.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Dickinson, Compliance Division 
(6405J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave 
NW., Washington, DC 20460. Telephone: (202) 343-9256, Fax: (202) 343-
2804, email address: Dickinson.David@EPA.GOV.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background and Discussion

    Section 209(e)(1) of the Act permanently preempts any State, or 
political subdivision thereof, from adopting or attempting to enforce 
any standard or other requirement relating to the control of emissions 
for certain new nonroad engines or vehicles.\1\ For all other nonroad 
engines (including any engine that is no longer ``new''), States are 
preempted from adopting and enforcing standards and other requirements 
relating to the control of emissions, except that section 209(e)(2) of 
the Act requires EPA to grant California authorization to adopt and 
enforce such regulations unless EPA makes one of three specifically 
enumerated findings. In addition, other States with attainment plans 
may adopt and enforce such regulations if the standards, and 
implementation and enforcement, are identical to California's 
standards. On July 20, 1994, EPA promulgated a rule that sets forth, 
among other things, regulations providing the criteria, as found in 
section 209(e)(2), which EPA must consider before granting any 
California authorization request for new nonroad engine or vehicle 
emission standards.\2\ EPA revised these regulations in 1997.\3\ As 
stated in the preamble to the 1994 rule, EPA has historically 
interpreted the section 209(e)(2)(iii) ``consistency'' inquiry to 
require, at minimum, that California standards and enforcement 
procedures be consistent with section 209(a), section 209(e)(1), and 
section 209(b)(1)(C) (as EPA has interpreted that subsection in the 
context of section 209(b) motor vehicle waivers).\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ States are expressly preempted from adopting or attempting 
to enforce any standard or other requirement relating to the control 
of emissions from new nonroad engines which are used in construction 
equipment or vehicles or used in farm equipment or vehicles and 
which are smaller than 175 horsepower. Such express preemption under 
section 209(e)(1) of the Act also applies to new locomotives or new 
engines used in locomotives.
    \2\ 59 FR 36969 (July 20, 1994).
    \3\ See 62 FR 67733 (December 30, 1997). The applicable 
regulations, now in 40 CFR part 1074, subpart B, Sec.  1074.105, 
provide:
    (a) The Administrator will grant the authorization if California 
determines that its standards will be, in the aggregate, at least as 
protective of public health and welfare as otherwise applicable 
federal standards.
    (b) The authorization will not be granted if the Administrator 
finds that any of the following are true:
    (1) California's determination is arbitrary and capricious.
    (2) California does not need such standards to meet compelling 
and extraordinary conditions.
    (3) The California standards and accompanying enforcement 
procedures are not consistent with section 209 of the Act.
    (c) In considering any request from California to authorize the 
state to adopt or enforce standards or other requirements relating 
to the control of emissions from new nonroad spark-ignition engines 
smaller than 50 horsepower, the Administrator will give appropriate 
consideration to safety factors (including the potential increased 
risk of burn or fire) associated with compliance with the California 
standard.
    \4\ See 59 FR 36969 (July 20, 1994).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In order to be consistent with section 209(a), California's nonroad 
standards and enforcement procedures must not apply to new motor 
vehicles or new motor vehicle engines. To be consistent with section 
209(e)(1), California's nonroad standards and enforcement procedures 
must not attempt to regulate engine categories that are permanently 
preempted from state regulation. To determine consistency with section 
209(b)(1)(C), EPA typically reviews nonroad authorization requests 
under the same ``consistency'' criteria that are applied to motor 
vehicle waiver requests. Pursuant to section 209(b)(1)(C), the 
Administrator shall not grant California a motor vehicle waiver if she 
finds that California ``standards and accompanying enforcement 
procedures are not consistent with section 202(a)'' of the Act. 
Previous decisions granting waivers and authorizations have noted that 
state standards and enforcement procedures are inconsistent with 
section 202(a) if: (1) There is inadequate lead time to permit the 
development of the necessary technology giving appropriate 
consideration to the cost of compliance within that time, or (2) the 
federal and state testing procedures impose inconsistent certification 
requirements.
    CARB has submitted to EPA, for authorization, its yard trucks 
powered by off-road engines and the auxiliary engines on two-engine 
sweepers provisions from its ``Regulation to Reduce Emissions of Diesel 
Particulate Matter, Oxides of Nitrogen and Other Criteria Pollutants 
from In-Use Heavy-Duty Diesel-Fueled Vehicles'' (commonly referred to 
as the ``Truck and Bus Regulation'') initially adopted by CARB on 
December 11, 2008 and subsequently amended on September 19, 2011.\5\ 
The Truck and Bus Regulation principally applies to non-new on-road 
motor vehicles, which is not the subject of this notice. The Truck and 
Bus Regulation also applies to any nonroad engines used to power yard 
trucks (which are principally used in off-road agricultural operations) 
and the

[[Page 50504]]

auxiliary engine used to power the broom or vacuum functions on two-
engine sweepers.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ CARB did not submit the entire Truck and Bus Regulation to 
EPA for waiver or authorization consideration. The regulation is 
codified at Title 13, California Code of Regulations, section 2025.
    \6\ The definition of yard truck is at section 2025 and two-
engine sweeper is defined at 2025(d)(58).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As stated above, EPA is offering the opportunity for a public 
hearing, and requesting written comments on issues relevant to a full 
waiver analysis. Specifically, please provide comment on: (a) Whether 
CARB's determination that its standards, in the aggregate, are at least 
as protective of public health and welfare as applicable federal 
standards is arbitrary and capricious, (b) California needs separate 
standards to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions, and (c) 
California's standards and accompanying enforcement procedures are 
consistent with section 209 of the Act.

II. Procedures for Public Participation

    If a hearing is held, the Agency will make a verbatim record of the 
proceedings. Interested parties may arrange with the reporter at the 
hearing to obtain a copy of the transcript at their own expense. 
Regardless of whether a public hearing is held, EPA will keep the 
record open until October 22, 2012. Upon expiration of the comment 
period, the Administrator will render a decision on CARB's request 
based on the record of the public hearing, if any, relevant written 
submissions, and other information that he deems pertinent.
    Persons with comments containing proprietary information must 
distinguish such information from other comments to the great possible 
extent and label it as ``Confidential Business Information'' (CBI). If 
a person making comments want EPA to base its decision in part on a 
submission labeled CBI, then a non-confidential version of the document 
that summarizes the key data or information should be submitted for the 
public docket. To ensure that proprietary information in not 
inadvertently place in the docket, submissions containing such 
information should be sent directly to the contact person listed above 
and not to the pubic docket. Information covered by a claim of 
confidentiality will be disclosed by EPA only to the extent allowed and 
by the procedures set forth in 40 CFR Part 2. If no claim of 
confidentiality accompanies the submission when EPA receives it, EPA 
will make it available to the public without further notice to the 
person making comments.

    Dated: August 9, 2012.
Margo Tsirigotis Oge,
Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Office of Air and 
Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2012-20499 Filed 8-20-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P