The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

Raymond R. Posten
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Amanda Gunasekara
Environmental Protection Agency
24 August 2018

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 165 (Friday, August 24, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42817-42818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18418]



[[Page 42817]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 85 and 86

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Parts 523, 531, 533, 536, and 537

[NHTSA-2018-0067; EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0283; FRL-9981-74-OAR]
RIN 2127-AL76; RIN 2060-AU09


The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for 
Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Announcement of public hearings.

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SUMMARY: EPA and NHTSA are announcing public hearings to be held for 
the joint proposed ``Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles 
Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks,'' (SAFE 
Vehicles Rule) issued on August 2, 2018. NHTSA will also accept comment 
on NHTSA's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS), available 
on NHTSA's website at www.nhtsa.gov/corporate-average-fuel-economy/safe. Three hearings will be held, on September 24, September 25, and 
September 26, 2018. The agencies will assume that all oral comments 
presented at the hearing are addressed to the joint proposed rules 
only, unless speakers specifically reference NHTSA's Draft EIS in oral 
or written testimony.

DATES: NHTSA and EPA will jointly hold three public hearings on the 
following dates: September 24, 2018 in Fresno, California; September 
25, 2018 in Dearborn, Michigan; and September 26, 2018 in Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania. The hearings will start at 10 a.m. local time and 
continue until 5:00 p.m. or until everyone has had a chance to speak. 
If you would like to present oral testimony at one of these public 
hearings, please contact the person identified under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT, at least ten days before the hearing.

ADDRESSES: The September 24, 2018 hearing will be held at the The Grand 
1401, 1401 Fulton Street, Fresno, California 93721. The September 25, 
2018 hearing will be held at the Dearborn Inn, 20301 Oakwood Boulevard, 
Dearborn, Michigan 48124. The September 26, 2018 hearing will be held 
at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites Pittsburgh Downtown, One 
Bigelow Square, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219. The hearings will be 
held at sites accessible to individuals with disabilities.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you would like to present oral 
testimony at a public hearing, please contact Kil-Jae Hong at NHTSA by 
the date specified under DATES, at kil-jae.hong@dot.gov. Please provide 
the following information: Name, affiliation, address, email address, 
telephone and fax numbers (if applicable), time you wish to speak 
(morning, afternoon) if there is a preference, and whether you require 
accommodations such as a sign language interpreter or translator.
    Questions concerning the proposed rules should be addressed to 
NHTSA: James Tamm, Office of Rulemaking, National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. 
Telephone: (202) 493-0515. EPA: Chris Lieske, Office of Transportation 
and Air Quality, Assessment and Standards Division (ASD), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48105; 
telephone number: (734) 214-4584; fax number: (734) 214-4816; email 
address: lieske.christopher@epa.gov. You may learn more about the 
proposal by visiting NHTSA's or EPA's web pages at http://www.nhtsa.gov/corporate-average-fuel-economy/safe or https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/safer-and-affordable-fuel-efficient-vehicles-proposed, or by searching the public 
dockets (NHTSA-2018-0067 (for the proposed rule) or NHTSA-2017-0069 
(for the Draft EIS); EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0283) at www.regulations.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the public hearings is to 
provide the public an opportunity to present oral comments regarding 
NHTSA and EPA's proposals for the SAFE Vehicles Rule. These hearings 
also offer an opportunity for the public to provide oral comments 
regarding NHTSA's Draft EIS, accompanying the proposed NHTSA fuel 
economy standards. The agencies will assume that all oral comments 
presented at the hearing are addressed to the joint proposed rules 
only, unless speakers specifically reference NHTSA's Draft EIS in oral 
or written testimony.
    The SAFE Vehicles Rule, if finalized, would amend certain existing 
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and tailpipe carbon dioxide 
emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks and establish 
new standards, all covering model years 2021 through 2026. More 
specifically, NHTSA is proposing new CAFE standards for model years 
2022 through 2026 and amending its 2021 model year CAFE standards 
because they are no longer maximum feasible standards, and EPA is 
proposing to amend its carbon dioxide emissions standards for model 
years 2021 through 2025 because they are no longer appropriate and 
reasonable in addition to establishing new standards for model year 
2026. The preferred alternative is to retain the model year 2020 
standards (specifically, the footprint target curves for passenger cars 
and light trucks) for both programs through model year 2026, but 
comment is sought on a range of alternatives discussed throughout this 
document. Compared to maintaining the post-2020 standards set forth in 
2012, current estimates indicate that the proposed SAFE Vehicles Rule 
would save over 500 billion dollars in societal costs and reduce 
highway fatalities by 12,700 lives (over the lifetimes of vehicles 
through MY 2029). U.S. fuel consumption would increase by about half a 
million barrels per day (2-3 percent of total daily consumption, 
according to the Energy Information Administration), emissions would 
increase by 7,400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2100, and 
would impact the global climate by 3/1000th of one degree Celsius by 
2100, also when compared to the standards set forth in 2012.
    The proposal for which EPA and NHTSA are holding the public 
hearings was signed on August 2, 2018 and the pre-publication version 
is available at the web pages listed above under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT and, also in the rulemaking dockets. NHTSA's Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement is available on NHTSA's web page and in 
NHTSA's docket for the EIS, both referenced above. We expect the 
official proposal to be published in the Federal Register soon. Please 
note that the pre-publication version of the proposal specified that 
the agencies would hold three public hearings in Washington DC, Detroit 
Michigan, and Los Angeles California, with details to be announced in a 
forthcoming Federal Register notice. The agencies have decided instead 
to hold three public hearings, in Fresno California, Dearborn, 
Michigan, and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, as specified above in this 
notice. Once NHTSA and EPA learn how many people have registered to 
speak at each

[[Page 42818]]

public hearing, we will allocate an appropriate amount of time to each 
participant, allowing time for necessary breaks. In addition, we will 
reserve a block of time for anyone else in the audience who wishes to 
give an oral presentation. For planning purposes, each speaker should 
anticipate speaking for approximately five minutes. We request that you 
bring three copies of your statement or other material for the EPA and 
NHTSA panels. To accommodate as many speakers as possible, we prefer 
that speakers not use technological aids (e.g., audio-visuals, computer 
slideshows). However, if you wish to do so, you must notify the contact 
persons in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section above. You also 
must make arrangements to provide your presentation or any other aids 
to NHTSA and EPA in advance of the hearing in order to facilitate set-
up.
    NHTSA and EPA will conduct the hearings informally, and technical 
rules of evidence will not apply. We will arrange for a written 
transcript of each hearing and keep the official record of each hearing 
open for 30 days to allow speakers to submit supplementary information 
to the dockets listed above. Panel members may ask clarifying questions 
during the oral presentations, but will not respond to the 
presentations at that time. You may make arrangements for copies of the 
transcripts directly with the court reporter.
    Written statements and supporting information submitted during the 
comment period will be considered with the same weight as oral comments 
and supporting information presented at the public hearings. To be 
assured of consideration, written comments on the proposal must be 
received by the date indicated in the Federal Register once the 
document publishes. Written comments on NHTSA's Draft EIS must be 
received or uploaded to NHTSA's docket for the EIS by September 24, 
2018.

Raymond R. Posten,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration.
Amanda Gunasekara,
Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, 
Environmental Protection Agency.
[FR Doc. 2018-18418 Filed 8-23-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P