Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California; California Mobile Source Regulations, 8403-8408 [2018-03992]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 39 / Tuesday, February 27, 2018 / Proposed Rules
We will publish an appropriate
amendment to 39 CFR part 111 and
Publication 199 to reflect these changes,
if our proposal is adopted.
Ruth B. Stevenson,
Attorney, Federal Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2018–03947 Filed 2–26–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710–12–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R09–OAR–2017–0620; FRL–9974–
85—Region 9]
Approval and Promulgation of
Implementation Plans; California;
California Mobile Source Regulations
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a
submittal by the State of California
(‘‘State’’) to revise its State
Implementation Plan (SIP). The
submittal consists of State regulations
establishing standards and other
requirements relating to the control of
emissions from certain new and in-use
on-road and off-road vehicles and
engines. The EPA is proposing to
approve the SIP revision because the
regulations meet the applicable
requirements of the Clean Air Act. If
finalized, approval of the regulations as
part of the California SIP will make
them federally enforceable.
DATES: Any comments must arrive by
March 29, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R09–
OAR–2017–0620 at https://
www.regulations.gov, or via email to
John Ungvarsky, at Ungvarsky.John@
epa.gov. For comments submitted at
Regulations.gov, follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Once submitted, comments cannot be
removed or edited from Regulations.gov.
For either manner of submission, the
EPA may publish any comment received
to its public docket. Do not submit
electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Multimedia submissions (audio, video,
etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is
considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points
you wish to make. The EPA will
generally not consider comments or
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SUMMARY:
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comment contents located outside of the
primary submission (i.e., on the web,
cloud, or other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, please
contact the person identified in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
For the full EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John
Ungvarsky, EPA Region IX, (415) 972–
3963, ungvarsky.john@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’
and ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. The State’s Submittal
A. What regulations did the State submit?
B. Are there other versions of these
regulations?
C. What is the purpose of the submitted
regulations?
D. What requirements do the regulations
establish?
III. EPA’s Evaluation and Proposed Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the
regulations?
B. Do the State’s regulations meet CAA SIP
evaluation criteria?
C. Proposed Action and Public Comment
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA or
‘‘Act’’), the EPA establishes national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS)
to protect public health and welfare.
The EPA has established NAAQS for
certain pervasive air pollutants
including ozone, carbon monoxide,
nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, lead
and particulate matter. Under section
110(a)(1) of the CAA, states must submit
plans that provide for the
implementation, maintenance, and
enforcement of the NAAQS within each
state. Such plans are referred to as SIPs,
and revisions to those plans are referred
to as SIP revisions. Section 110(a)(2) of
the CAA sets forth the content
requirements for SIPs. Among the
various requirements, SIPs must include
enforceable emission limitations and
other control measures, means, or
techniques as may be necessary or
appropriate to meet the applicable
requirements of the CAA. See CAA
section 110(a)(2)(a).
Emissions sources contributing to
ambient air pollution levels can be
divided into two basic categories:
Stationary emissions sources and
mobile emissions sources. As a general
matter, the CAA assigns stationary
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8403
source regulation and SIP development
responsibilities to the states through
title I of the Act and assigns mobile
source regulation to the EPA through
title II of the Act. In so doing, the CAA
preempts various types of state
regulation of mobile sources as set forth
in section 209(a) (preemption of state
emissions standards for new motor
vehicles and engines), section 209(e)
(preemption of state emissions
standards for new and in-use off-road
vehicles and engines),1 and section
211(c)(4)(A) (preemption of state fuel
requirements for motor vehicle emission
control, i.e., other than California’s
motor vehicle fuel requirements for
motor vehicle emission control—see
section 211(c)(4)(B)).
Under California law, the California
Air Resources Board (CARB) is the State
agency responsible for adopting and
submitting the California SIP and SIP
revisions. Over the years, CARB has
submitted, and the EPA has approved,
many county and regional air district
rules regulating stationary source
emissions as part of the California SIP.
See generally 40 CFR 52.220(c). With
respect to mobile sources not
specifically preempted under the CAA,
CARB has submitted, and the EPA has
approved, certain specific State
regulatory programs, such as the in-use,
heavy-duty, diesel-fueled truck rule,
various fuels regulations, and the
vehicle inspection and maintenance
program (I/M, also known as ‘‘smog
check’’). See, e.g., 77 FR 20308 (April 4,
2012) (in-use truck and bus regulation),
75 FR 26653 (May 12, 2010) (revisions
to California on-road reformulated
gasoline and diesel fuel regulations) and
75 FR 38023 (July 1, 2010) (revisions to
California motor vehicle I/M program).
CARB and the air districts rely on
these county, regional and State
stationary and mobile source regulations
to meet various CAA requirements and
include the corresponding emissions
reductions in the various regional air
quality plans developed to attain and
maintain the NAAQS. The EPA
generally allows California to take credit
for the corresponding emissions
reductions relied upon in the various
regional air quality plans because,
among other reasons, the regulations are
approved as part of the SIP and are
thereby federally enforceable as
required under CAA section
110(a)(2)(A).
1 EPA regulations refer to ‘‘nonroad’’ vehicles and
engines whereas California Air Resources Board
(CARB) regulations refer to ‘‘off-road’’ vehicles and
engines. These terms refer to the same types of
vehicles and engines, and for the purposes of this
action, we will be using CARB’s chosen term, ‘‘offroad,’’ to refer to such vehicles and engines.
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With respect to mobile sources that
are specifically preempted under the
CAA, CARB must request a waiver (for
motor vehicles) or authorization (for offroad engines and equipment) in order to
enforce standards relating to the control
of emissions and accompanying
enforcement procedures for these types
of mobile sources. See CAA sections
209(b) (new motor vehicles) and
209(e)(2) (most categories of new and inuse off-road vehicles). Over the years,
CARB has submitted many requests for
waiver or authorization of its standards
and other requirements relating to the
control of emissions from new on-road
and new and in-use off-road vehicles
and engines, and the EPA has granted
many such requests. Once the EPA
grants the request for waiver or
authorization, CARB may enforce the
corresponding mobile source
regulations, and until 2015, the EPA had
approved California air quality plans
that take credit for emissions reductions
from such regulations, notwithstanding
the fact that California had not
submitted these particular regulations as
part of the California SIP.
The EPA’s longstanding practice of
approving California plans that rely on
emissions reductions from such ‘‘waiver
measures,’’ notwithstanding the lack of
approval as part of the SIP, was
challenged in several petitions filed in
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In
a 2015 decision, the Ninth Circuit held
in favor of the petitioners on this issue
and concluded that CAA section
110(a)(2)(A) requires that all state and
local control measures on which SIPs
rely to attain the NAAQS be included in
the SIP and thereby subject to
enforcement by the EPA and members
of the general public. See Committee for
a Better Arvin v EPA, 786 F.3d 1169 (9th
Cir. 2015).
In response to the decision in
Committee for a Better Arvin v. EPA,
CARB submitted SIP revisions on
August 14, 2015, December 7, 2016, and
June 15, 2017, consisting of State mobile
source regulations that establish
standards and other requirements for
the control of emissions from various
new on-road and new and in-use offroad vehicles and engines for which the
EPA has issued waivers or
authorizations and that are relied upon
by California regional plans to attain
and maintain the NAAQS. The EPA
took final action on CARB’s August 14,
2015, and December 7, 2016 submittals
at 81 FR 39424 (June 16, 2016) and 82
FR 14446 (March 21, 2017),
respectively. In today’s action, the EPA
is proposing action on CARB’s June 15,
2017 SIP revision submittal.
II. The State’s Submittal
A. What regulations did the State
submit?
On June 15, 2017, CARB submitted a
SIP revision that included a set of State
mobile source regulations for which
waivers or authorizations have been
granted by the EPA under section 209 of
the CAA since the previous related SIP
revision submittal (i.e., since December
7, 2016). The SIP revision consists of the
regulations themselves and
documentation of the public process
conducted by CARB in approving the
regulations as part of the California SIP.
Table 1 below presents the contents of
the SIP revision by mobile source
category and provides, for each such
category, a listing of the relevant
sections of the California Code of
Regulations (CCR) that establish
standards and other requirements for
control of emissions from new or in-use
vehicles or engines; the corresponding
date of CARB’s hearing date or
Executive Officer action through which
the regulations or amendments were
adopted; and the notice of decision in
which the EPA granted a waiver or
authorization for the given set of
regulations.
TABLE 1—CARB SIP REVISION SUBMITTAL SUMMARY
Date of relevant CARB
hearing date or
Executive Officer
action
Source category
Relevant sections of California Code of Regulations
Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC) .......
17 CCR § 93118.5 (excluding (e)(1)), effective for State law purposes on
July 20, 2011.
13 CCR §§ 2477, 2477.1 through 2477.21, effective for State law purposes on October 15, 2012.
13 CCR § 1956.8, effective for State law purposes on December 22,
2011, and the document incorporated by reference (see table 2 below).
13 CCR §§ 2416, 2417, 2418, 2419, 2419.1–2419.4, effective for State
law purposes on April 1, 2015, and the document incorporated by reference (see table 2 below).
In-Use Diesel-Fueled Transport Refrigeration Units (TRUs).
On-Road Heavy-Duty Diesel (HDD)
Engines.
Off-Highway Recreational Vehicles
(OHRVs).
The regulations submitted by CARB
as part of the overall SIP revision and
listed in Table 1 incorporate by
reference documents that establish test
procedures, among other things. Table 2
June 24, 2010 ................
October 21, 2011 ...........
June 23, 2011 ................
July 25, 2013 ..................
EPA notice of
decision
82 FR 6500
(January 19,
82 FR 6525
(January 19,
82 FR 4867
(January 17,
82 FR 6540
(January 19,
2017).
2017).
2017).
2017).
lists the incorporated documents
included in the SIP submittal.
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TABLE 2—DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN CARB REGULATIONS LISTED IN TABLE 1 AND SUBMITTED AS
PART OF SIP REVISION
On-Road Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines:
California Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for 2004 and Subsequent Model Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines and Vehicles, as
last amended October 12, 2011.
Off-Highway Recreational Vehicles and Engines:
Test Procedure for Determining Evaporative Emissions from Off-Highway Recreational Vehicles (TP–933), dated November 5, 2014.
We note that CARB has expressly
excluded 17 CCR § 93118.5(e)(1) from
consideration as part of the SIP revision
on the grounds that it is not preempted
and thus not included in the EPA’s
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authorization of the amended CHC
regulations. The excluded provision
requires use of low sulfur fuel by all
commercial harbor craft within certain
California waters with certain
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exceptions. This same provision was
excluded from the SIP submittal of the
original CHC regulations, which the
EPA approved at 81 FR 39424 (June 16,
2016).
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B. Are there other versions of these
regulations?
Historically, as noted above, CARB
regulations subject to the section 209
waiver or authorization process were
not submitted to the EPA as a revision
to the California SIP. However, in the
wake of the Ninth Circuit’s decision in
Committee for a Better Arvin v. EPA, on
August 14, 2015, CARB submitted a
large set of mobile source regulations
that had been issued waivers or
authorizations to the EPA as a SIP
revision. The EPA took final approval
action on this first set of regulations on
June 16, 2016 (81 FR 39424). CARB’s
initial set of regulations included
regulations establishing standards and
other requirements relating to the
control of emissions from new on-road
vehicles and engines, including certain
requirements related to on-road HDD
vehicle and engines, from new and inuse off-road vehicles and engines,
including certain requirements related
to CHC, TRUs, and OHRVs. On
December 7, 2016, CARB submitted a
second set of mobile source regulations,
i.e., those for which waivers or
authorizations had been issued since
August 2015, and the EPA approved
them on March 21, 2017 (82 FR 14446).
CARB’s December 7, 2016 SIP revision
submittal contained certain amended
on-board diagnostic system regulations
for new on-road vehicles and engines
and certain amendments to the
regulations affecting off-road large
spark-ignition engines, small off-road
engines, and off-road compressionignition engines. CARB’s June 15, 2017
SIP revision submittal represents the
third set of mobile source regulations,
which include regulations for which the
EPA issued waivers or authorization
since December 2016. This third set of
regulations consists of amendments to
the previously-approved regulations for
on-road HDD engines, CHC, TRUs, and
OHRVs.
C. What is the purpose of the submitted
regulations?
California has experienced some of
the most severe and most persistent air
pollution problems in the country.
Under the CAA, based on ambient data
collected at numerous sites throughout
the State, the EPA has designated areas
within California as nonattainment
areas for the ozone NAAQS and the
particulate matter (PM) NAAQS, which
includes both coarse and fine
particulate (i.e., PM10 and PM2.5). See,
generally, 40 CFR 81.305. Several areas
in California that had been designated
as nonattainment areas for the carbon
8405
monoxide NAAQS have been
redesignated by the EPA as attainment
areas because they have attained the
standard and are subject to an approved
maintenance plan demonstrating how
they will maintain the carbon monoxide
standard into the future.
Mobile source emissions constitute a
significant portion of overall emissions
of carbon monoxide, volatile organic
compounds (VOC), oxides of nitrogen
(NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and PM in
the various air quality planning areas
within California, and thus, the purpose
of CARB’s mobile source regulations is
to reduce these emissions and thereby
reduce ambient concentrations to attain
and maintain the NAAQS throughout
California.2 At elevated levels, ozone
and PM harm human health and the
environment by contributing to
premature mortality, aggravation of
respiratory and cardiovascular disease,
decreased lung function, visibility
impairment, and damage to vegetation
and ecosystems.
D. What requirements do the regulations
establish?
Table 3 below generally describes the
amended regulations listed in table 1
above and summarizes some of the key
emissions control requirements
contained in the rules.
TABLE 3—GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS ESTABLISHED IN THE MOBILE SOURCE REGULATIONS INCLUDED IN
THE JUNE 15, 2017 SIP REVISION
Source category
Description of requirements in submitted regulations
Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC)
The 2011 amendments to the CHC regulations set forth a variety of in-use requirements, including extending
the applicability of the CHC regulations to in-use crew and supply, barge and dredge vessels that are
equipped with federal Tier 0 and Tier 1 propulsion and auxiliary marine engines that operate within 24
miles seaward of the California coastline; eliminate certain exemptions for CHC engines that had been registered in a different CARB program; allow EPA or CARB Tier 2 or higher tier certified off-road engines to
be used as auxiliary or propulsion engines in both new and in-use CHC vessels; and clarify requirements
and address certain issues that have arisen during CARB’s implementation of the original CHC regulations.
For more information, see 82 FR 6500 (January 19, 2017).
The 2011 amendments to the TRU regulations primarily provide owners of TRU engines with certain flexibilities; clarify recordkeeping requirements for certain types of TRU engines; establish requirements for businesses that arrange, hire, contract, or dispatch the transport of goods in TRU-equipped trucks, trailers, or
containers; and address other issues that arose during the initial implementation of CARB’s TRU regulation. For more information, see 82 FR 6525 (January 19, 2017).
The 2011 amendments to the HDD in-use compliance regulations establish a new PM measurement allowance consistent with amendments by the EPA to the corresponding federal program; and clarify an exemption for certain armored cars and workover rigs. For more information, see 82 FR 4867 (January 17, 2017).
The 2014 amendments to the OHRV regulations establish a new evaporative emission standard of 1.0 gram
per day for the complete OHRV fuel system which includes running losses (evaporative emissions generated during vehicle operation), hot soak (evaporative emissions generated directly after vehicle operation), and diurnal losses (evaporative emissions generated during long term storage); establish diurnal
and fuel system leakage standards and associated test procedures for 2018 and subsequent model year
OHRVs; and establish certain durability test procedures and other test procedure provisions for preconditioning evaporative emission control systems and components, running loss and hot soak preconditioning
tests, and test procedures for the 72-hour and steady-state diurnal tests. The California OHRV category
encompasses a wide variety of vehicles, including off-road motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, off-road sport
and utility vehicles, sand cars, and golf carts. For more information, see 82 FR 6540 (January 19, 2017).
In-Use Diesel-Fueled Transport
Refrigeration Units (TRU).
On-Road Heavy-Duty Diesel
(HDD) Engines.
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Off-Highway Recreational Vehicles (OHRVs).
2 VOC and NO are precursors responsible for the
X
formation of ozone, and NOX and SO2 are
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precursors for PM2.5. SO2 belongs to a family of
compounds referred to as sulfur oxides. PM2.5
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precursors also include VOC and ammonia. See 40
CFR 51.1000.
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III. EPA’s Evaluation and Proposed
Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the
regulations?
The EPA has evaluated the submitted
regulations discussed above against the
applicable procedural and substantive
requirements of the CAA for SIPs and
SIP revisions and has concluded that
they meet all the applicable
requirements. Generally, SIPs must
include enforceable emission
limitations and other control measures,
means, or techniques, as well as
schedules and timetables for
compliance, as may be necessary to
meet the requirements of the Act (see
CAA section 110(a)(2)(A)); must provide
necessary assurances that the state will
have adequate personnel, funding, and
authority under state law to carry out
such SIP (and is not prohibited by any
provision of federal or state law from
carrying out such SIP) (see CAA section
110(a)(2)(E)); must be adopted by a state
after reasonable notice and public
hearing (see CAA section 110(l)); and
must not interfere with any applicable
requirement concerning attainment and
reasonable further progress, or any other
applicable requirement of the Act (see
CAA section 110(l)).3
B. Do the State’s regulations meet CAA
SIP evaluation criteria?
1. Did the state provide adequate public
notification and comment periods?
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Under CAA section 110(l), SIP
revisions must be adopted by the state,
and the state must provide for
reasonable public notice and hearing
prior to adoption. In 40 CFR 51.102(d),
we specify that reasonable public notice
in this context refers to at least 30 days.
All the submitted regulations have
gone through extensive public comment
processes including CARB’s workshop
and hearing processes prior to State
adoption of each rule. Also, the EPA’s
waiver and authorization processes
provide an opportunity for the public to
submit written comment and to request
public hearings to present information
relevant to the EPA’s consideration of
CARB’s request for waiver or
authorization under section 209 of the
CAA.
3 CAA section 193, which prohibits any pre-1990
SIP control requirement relating to nonattainment
pollutants in nonattainment areas from being
modified unless the SIP is revised to insure
equivalent or greater emission reductions of such
air pollutants, does not apply to these regulations
because they are new regulations or amend
regulations previously approved in the California
SIP in 2016, and thus, do not constitute an
amendment to a pre-1990 SIP control requirement.
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In addition, on June 19, 2015, CARB
published a notice of public hearing to
consider adoption and submittal of
certain adopted regulations as a revision
to the California SIP including those
submitted by CARB on June 15, 2017.
CARB held the public hearing on July
23, 2015. No written comments were
submitted to CARB on the proposed SIP
revision, and no public comments were
made at the public hearing. CARB
adopted the SIP revision at the July 23,
2015 Board Hearing (see Board
Resolution 15–40) and submitted the
relevant mobile source regulations to
the EPA along with evidence of the
public process conducted by CARB in
adopting the SIP revision.4 We conclude
that CARB’s June 15, 2017 SIP revision
submittal meets the applicable
procedural requirements for SIP
revisions under the CAA section 110(l)
and 40 CFR 51.102.
2. Does the state have adequate legal
authority to implement the regulations?
CARB has been granted both general
and specific authority under the
California Health & Safety Code (H&SC)
to adopt and implement these
regulations. California H&SC sections
39600 (‘‘Acts required’’) and 39601
(‘‘Adoption of regulation; Conformance
to federal law’’) confer on CARB the
general authority and obligation to
adopt regulations and measures
necessary to execute CARB’s powers
and duties imposed by State law.
California H&SC sections 43013(a) and
43018 provide broad authority to
achieve the maximum feasible and costeffective emission reductions from all
mobile source categories. Regarding inuse motor vehicles, California H&SC
sections 43600 and 43701(b),
respectively, grant CARB authority to
adopt emission standards and emission
control equipment requirements.
The mobile source regulations that are
the subject of today’s action were
submitted by CARB under CAA section
209 with a request for waiver or
authorization and were granted such
waiver or authorization by the EPA.
Thus, the regulations we are proposing
to approve today are not preempted
under the CAA. For additional
information regarding California’s motor
vehicle emission standards, please see
the EPA’s ‘‘California Waivers and
Authorizations’’ web page at URL
address: https://www.epa.gov/otaq/
4 In addition to CARB’s June 15, 2017 submittal,
prior submittals of relevant mobile source
regulations were made on August 14, 2015 and
December 7, 2016. The EPA took final actions on
the 2015 and 2016 submittals on June 16, 2016 (81
FR 39424) and March 21, 2017 (82 FR 14446),
respectively.
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cafr.htm. This website also lists relevant
Federal Register notices that have been
issued by the EPA is response to
California waiver and authorization
requests.
In addition, the EPA is unaware of
any non-CAA legal obstacle to CARB’s
enforcement of the regulations and thus
we conclude that CARB has provided
the necessary assurances that the State
has adequate authority under State law
to carry out the SIP revision (and is not
prohibited by any provision of federal or
State law from carrying out such SIP)
and thereby meets the requirements of
CAA section 110(a)(2)(E) with respect to
legal authority.
3. Are the regulations enforceable as
required under CAA section 110(a)(2)?
We have evaluated the enforceability
of the amended mobile source
regulations with respect to applicability
and exemptions; standard of conduct
and compliance dates; sunset
provisions; discretionary provisions;
and test methods, recordkeeping and
reporting,5 and have concluded for the
reasons given below that the amended
regulations would be enforceable for the
purposes of CAA section 110(a)(2).
First, with respect to applicability, we
find that the amended regulations are
sufficiently clear as to which persons
and which vehicles or engines are
affected by the regulations. See, e.g., 13
CCR sections 2416(a) and (b)
(applicability and exemption provisions
for OHRV evaporative emissions
requirements), 13 CCR sections 2477.2
and 2477.3 (applicability and exemption
provisions for in-use diesel-fueled
TRUs), and 17 CCR sections 93118.5(b)
and (c) (applicability and exemption
provisions for commercial harbor craft).
Second, we find that the amended
regulations are sufficiently specific so
that the persons affected by the
regulations are on notice as to what the
requirements and related compliance
dates are. For instance, see the
evaporative emission standards and test
procedures set forth for OHRVs in 13
CCR section 2418, the in-use
compliance dates for TRUs in 13 CCR
section 2477.5(b), and the engine
emission requirements in 17 CCR
sections 93118.5(e)(2)–(6).
Third, none of the amended
regulations contain sunset provisions
that automatically repeal the emissions
limits by a given date or upon the
occurrence of a particular event, such as
5 These concepts are discussed in detail in an
EPA memorandum from J. Craig Potter, EPA
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, et
al., titled ‘‘Review of State Implementation Plans
and Revisions for Enforceability and Legal
Sufficiency,’’ dated September 23, 1987.
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the change in the designation of an area
from nonattainment to attainment.
Fourth, a number of the amended
regulations contain provisions that
allow for discretion on the part of
CARB’s Executive Officer. Such
‘‘director’s discretion’’ provisions can
undermine enforceability of a SIP
regulation, and thus prevent full
approval by the EPA. However, in the
instances of ‘‘director’s discretion’’ in
the amended regulations, the discretion
that can be exercised by the CARB
Executive Officer is reasonably limited
under the terms of the regulations. For
instance, in 17 CCR 93118.5(e)(6)(E), the
Executive Officer may grant a timelimited extension to the compliance
date that would otherwise apply only
for specific reasons and under limited
circumstances as set forth in the
regulation. With such constraints on
discretion, the ‘‘director’s discretion’’
contained in the amended regulations
would not significantly undermine
enforceability of the rules by citizens or
the EPA.
Lastly, the amended regulations
identify appropriate test methods and
include adequate recordkeeping and
reporting requirements sufficient to
ensure compliance with the applicable
requirements.
4. Do the regulations interfere with
reasonable further progress and
attainment or any other applicable
requirement of the Act?
All the State’s reasonable further
progress (RFP), attainment, and
maintenance plans rely to some extent
on the emission reductions from CARB’s
mobile source program, including the
emissions standards and other
requirements for which the EPA has
issued waivers or authorizations.
CARB’s mobile source program is
reflected in the emissions estimates for
mobile sources that are included in the
emissions inventories that form the
quantitative basis for the RFP,
attainment, and maintenance
demonstrations. Based on CARB
estimates, the amended regulations
evaluated herein would, considered
together, reduce VOC, NOX, and PM
emissions by approximately 1,220 tons
per year (tpy), 270 tpy, and 20 tpy,
respectively, on a statewide basis in
year 2023.6 As such, the amended
regulations would support the various
RFP, attainment, and maintenance
plans, and would not interfere with
6 The emissions estimates are based on emissions
presented in the Initial Statement of Reasons (ISOR)
published by CARB for each of the four individual
regulatory actions considered herein. The relevant
ISORs are included in the docket for this
rulemaking.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:03 Feb 26, 2018
Jkt 244001
such requirements for the purposes of
CAA section 110(l).
enforceable SIP for the State of
California.
5. Will the state have adequate
personnel and funding for the
regulations?
8407
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In its SIP revision submittal dated
August 14, 2015, CARB refers to the
annual approval by the California
Legislature of funding and staff
resources for carrying out CAA-related
responsibilities and notes that a large
portion of CARB’s budget has gone
toward meeting CAA mandates.7 CARB
indicates that a majority of CARB’s
funding comes from dedicated fees
collected from regulated emission
sources and other sources such as
vehicle registration fees and vehicles
license plate fees and that these funds
can only be used for air pollution
control activities. Id. For the 2014–2015
budget cycle, CARB had over 700
positions and almost $500 million
dedicated to the mobile source program
developing and enforcing regulations.
Id. Given the longstanding nature of
CARB’s mobile source program, and its
documented effectiveness at achieving
significant reductions from mobile
sources, we find that CARB has
provided necessary assurances that the
State has adequate personnel and
funding to carry out the amended
mobile source regulations submitted for
approval on June 15, 2017.
6. EPA’s Evaluation Conclusion
Based on the above discussion, we
believe these regulations are consistent
with the relevant CAA requirements and
with relevant EPA policies and
guidance.
C. Proposed Action and Public
Comment
Under section 110(k)(3) of the CAA,
and for the reasons given above, we are
proposing to approve a SIP revision
submitted by CARB on June 15, 2017,
that includes certain sections of titles 13
and 17 of the California Code of
Regulations that establish standards and
other requirements relating to the
control of emissions from certain new
and in-use on-road and off-road vehicles
and engines. We are proposing to
approve these regulations as part of the
California SIP because we believe they
fulfill all relevant CAA requirements.
We will accept comments from the
public on this proposal until March 29,
2018. If we finalize this action as
proposed, the submitted regulations will
be incorporated into the federally
7 Letter from Richard W. Corey, Executive Officer,
CARB, to Jared Blumenfeld, Regional
Administrator, EPA Region IX, August 14, 2015.
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Frm 00017
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
In this action, the EPA is proposing to
include in a final EPA rule regulatory
text that includes incorporation by
reference. In accordance with
requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is
proposing to incorporate by reference of
certain sections of titles 13 and 17 of the
California Code of Regulations that
establish standards and other
requirements relating to the control of
emissions from certain new on-road and
new and in-use off-road vehicles and
engines, as described in section II of this
preamble. The EPA has made, and will
continue to make, these documents
generally available electronically
through www.regulations.gov and in
hard copy at the appropriate EPA office
(see the ADDRESSES section of this
preamble for more information).
V. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, the
Administrator is required to approve a
SIP submission that complies with the
provisions of the Act and applicable
federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k);
40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in reviewing SIP
submissions, the EPA’s role is to
approve state choices, provided that
they meet the criteria of the Clean Air
Act. Accordingly, this proposed action
merely proposes to approve state law as
meeting federal requirements and does
not impose additional requirements
beyond those imposed by state law. For
that reason, this proposed action:
• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory
action’’ subject to review by the Office
of Management and Budget under
Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735,
October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821,
January 21, 2011);
• Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82
FR 9339, February 2, 2017) regulatory
action because SIP approvals are
exempted under Executive Order 12866;
• Does not impose an information
collection burden under the provisions
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
• Is certified as not having a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
• Does not contain any unfunded
mandate or significantly or uniquely
affect small governments, as described
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4);
• Does not have Federalism
implications as specified in Executive
E:\FR\FM\27FEP1.SGM
27FEP1
8408
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 39 / Tuesday, February 27, 2018 / Proposed Rules
Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10,
1999);
• Is not an economically significant
regulatory action based on health or
safety risks subject to Executive Order
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997);
• Is not a significant regulatory action
subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR
28355, May 22, 2001);
• Is not subject to requirements of
Section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because
application of those requirements would
be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act;
and
• Does not provide the EPA with the
discretionary authority to address
disproportionate human health or
environmental effects with practical,
appropriate, and legally permissible
methods under Executive Order 12898
(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, the SIP is not approved
to apply on any Indian reservation land
or in any other area where the EPA or
an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a
tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of
Indian country, the proposed rule does
not have tribal implications and will not
impose substantial direct costs on tribal
governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference,
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: February 15, 2018.
Alexis Strauss,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2018–03992 Filed 2–26–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
Written comments should be
received on or before March 29, 2018.
DATES:
Submit your comments,
identified by EPA–R06–OAR–2017–
0077, at https://www.regulations.gov or
via email to walser.john@epa.gov. For
additional information on how to
submit comments see the detailed
instructions in the ADDRESSES section of
the direct final rule located in the rules
section of this Federal Register.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Approval and Promulgation of
Implementation Plans; Texas;
Approval of Texas Motor Vehicle Rule
Revisions
In the
final rules section of this Federal
Register, the EPA is approving the
State’s SIP submittal as a direct rule
without prior proposal because the
Agency views this as a noncontroversial
submittal and anticipates no adverse
comments. A detailed rationale for the
approval is set forth in the direct final
rule. If no relevant adverse comments
are received in response to this action
no further activity is contemplated. If
the EPA receives relevant adverse
comments, the direct final rule will be
withdrawn and all public comments
received will be addressed in a
subsequent final rule based on this
proposed rule. The EPA will not
institute a second comment period. Any
parties interested in commenting on this
action should do so at this time.
For additional information, see the
direct final rule which is located in the
rules section of this Federal Register.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[FR Doc. 2018–03973 Filed 2–26–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
19:03 Feb 26, 2018
Jkt 244001
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 180
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2017–0006; FRL–9972–17]
Receipt of Several Pesticide Petitions
Filed for Residues of Pesticide
Chemicals in or on Various
Commodities
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of filing of petitions and
request for comment.
AGENCY:
This document announces the
Agency’s receipt of several initial filings
of pesticide petitions requesting the
establishment or modification of
regulations for residues of pesticide
chemicals in or on various commodities.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before March 29, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by docket identification (ID)
number and the pesticide petition
number (PP) of interest as shown in the
body of this document, by one of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute.
• Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental
Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/
DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave.
NW, Washington, DC 20460–0001.
• Hand Delivery: To make special
arrangements for hand delivery or
delivery of boxed information, please
follow the instructions at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.
Additional instructions on
commenting or visiting the docket,
along with more information about
dockets generally, is available at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael Goodis, Registration Division
(7505P), main telephone number: (703)
305–7090; email address:
RDFRNotices@epa.gov, The mailing
address for each contact person is:
Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC
20460–0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
I. General Information
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Mr.
John Walser, (214) 665–7128,
walser.john@epa.gov.
Dated: February 22, 2018.
Anne Idsal,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.
[EPA–R06–OAR–2017–0077; FRL–9974–
50—Region 6]
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
Pursuant to the Federal Clean
Air Act (CAA or the Act), the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
is proposing to approve revisions
submitted by the State of Texas that
affect the Texas State Implementation
Plan (SIP) concerning Texas’ motor
vehicle air pollution rules and retail
gasoline dispensing labeling
requirements for El Paso. The revisions
are non-substantive in nature and do not
affect implementation of federal
requirements.
SUMMARY:
A. Does this action apply to me?
You may be potentially affected by
this action if you are an agricultural
PO 00000
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Fmt 4702
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27FEP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 27, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8403-8408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03992]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R09-OAR-2017-0620; FRL-9974-85--Region 9]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California;
California Mobile Source Regulations
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a submittal by the State of California (``State'') to revise
its State Implementation Plan (SIP). The submittal consists of State
regulations establishing standards and other requirements relating to
the control of emissions from certain new and in-use on-road and off-
road vehicles and engines. The EPA is proposing to approve the SIP
revision because the regulations meet the applicable requirements of
the Clean Air Act. If finalized, approval of the regulations as part of
the California SIP will make them federally enforceable.
DATES: Any comments must arrive by March 29, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-
OAR-2017-0620 at https://www.regulations.gov, or via email to John
Ungvarsky, at [email protected]. For comments submitted at
Regulations.gov, follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be removed or edited from
Regulations.gov. For either manner of submission, the EPA may publish
any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically
any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information
(CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located
outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, please contact
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective
comments, please visit https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Ungvarsky, EPA Region IX, (415)
972-3963, [email protected]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, ``we,'' ``us'' and
``our'' refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. The State's Submittal
A. What regulations did the State submit?
B. Are there other versions of these regulations?
C. What is the purpose of the submitted regulations?
D. What requirements do the regulations establish?
III. EPA's Evaluation and Proposed Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the regulations?
B. Do the State's regulations meet CAA SIP evaluation criteria?
C. Proposed Action and Public Comment
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA or ``Act''), the EPA establishes
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) to protect public health
and welfare. The EPA has established NAAQS for certain pervasive air
pollutants including ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur
dioxide, lead and particulate matter. Under section 110(a)(1) of the
CAA, states must submit plans that provide for the implementation,
maintenance, and enforcement of the NAAQS within each state. Such plans
are referred to as SIPs, and revisions to those plans are referred to
as SIP revisions. Section 110(a)(2) of the CAA sets forth the content
requirements for SIPs. Among the various requirements, SIPs must
include enforceable emission limitations and other control measures,
means, or techniques as may be necessary or appropriate to meet the
applicable requirements of the CAA. See CAA section 110(a)(2)(a).
Emissions sources contributing to ambient air pollution levels can
be divided into two basic categories: Stationary emissions sources and
mobile emissions sources. As a general matter, the CAA assigns
stationary source regulation and SIP development responsibilities to
the states through title I of the Act and assigns mobile source
regulation to the EPA through title II of the Act. In so doing, the CAA
preempts various types of state regulation of mobile sources as set
forth in section 209(a) (preemption of state emissions standards for
new motor vehicles and engines), section 209(e) (preemption of state
emissions standards for new and in-use off-road vehicles and
engines),\1\ and section 211(c)(4)(A) (preemption of state fuel
requirements for motor vehicle emission control, i.e., other than
California's motor vehicle fuel requirements for motor vehicle emission
control--see section 211(c)(4)(B)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ EPA regulations refer to ``nonroad'' vehicles and engines
whereas California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations refer to
``off-road'' vehicles and engines. These terms refer to the same
types of vehicles and engines, and for the purposes of this action,
we will be using CARB's chosen term, ``off-road,'' to refer to such
vehicles and engines.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under California law, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is
the State agency responsible for adopting and submitting the California
SIP and SIP revisions. Over the years, CARB has submitted, and the EPA
has approved, many county and regional air district rules regulating
stationary source emissions as part of the California SIP. See
generally 40 CFR 52.220(c). With respect to mobile sources not
specifically preempted under the CAA, CARB has submitted, and the EPA
has approved, certain specific State regulatory programs, such as the
in-use, heavy-duty, diesel-fueled truck rule, various fuels
regulations, and the vehicle inspection and maintenance program (I/M,
also known as ``smog check''). See, e.g., 77 FR 20308 (April 4, 2012)
(in-use truck and bus regulation), 75 FR 26653 (May 12, 2010)
(revisions to California on-road reformulated gasoline and diesel fuel
regulations) and 75 FR 38023 (July 1, 2010) (revisions to California
motor vehicle I/M program).
CARB and the air districts rely on these county, regional and State
stationary and mobile source regulations to meet various CAA
requirements and include the corresponding emissions reductions in the
various regional air quality plans developed to attain and maintain the
NAAQS. The EPA generally allows California to take credit for the
corresponding emissions reductions relied upon in the various regional
air quality plans because, among other reasons, the regulations are
approved as part of the SIP and are thereby federally enforceable as
required under CAA section 110(a)(2)(A).
[[Page 8404]]
With respect to mobile sources that are specifically preempted
under the CAA, CARB must request a waiver (for motor vehicles) or
authorization (for off-road engines and equipment) in order to enforce
standards relating to the control of emissions and accompanying
enforcement procedures for these types of mobile sources. See CAA
sections 209(b) (new motor vehicles) and 209(e)(2) (most categories of
new and in-use off-road vehicles). Over the years, CARB has submitted
many requests for waiver or authorization of its standards and other
requirements relating to the control of emissions from new on-road and
new and in-use off-road vehicles and engines, and the EPA has granted
many such requests. Once the EPA grants the request for waiver or
authorization, CARB may enforce the corresponding mobile source
regulations, and until 2015, the EPA had approved California air
quality plans that take credit for emissions reductions from such
regulations, notwithstanding the fact that California had not submitted
these particular regulations as part of the California SIP.
The EPA's longstanding practice of approving California plans that
rely on emissions reductions from such ``waiver measures,''
notwithstanding the lack of approval as part of the SIP, was challenged
in several petitions filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In a
2015 decision, the Ninth Circuit held in favor of the petitioners on
this issue and concluded that CAA section 110(a)(2)(A) requires that
all state and local control measures on which SIPs rely to attain the
NAAQS be included in the SIP and thereby subject to enforcement by the
EPA and members of the general public. See Committee for a Better Arvin
v EPA, 786 F.3d 1169 (9th Cir. 2015).
In response to the decision in Committee for a Better Arvin v. EPA,
CARB submitted SIP revisions on August 14, 2015, December 7, 2016, and
June 15, 2017, consisting of State mobile source regulations that
establish standards and other requirements for the control of emissions
from various new on-road and new and in-use off-road vehicles and
engines for which the EPA has issued waivers or authorizations and that
are relied upon by California regional plans to attain and maintain the
NAAQS. The EPA took final action on CARB's August 14, 2015, and
December 7, 2016 submittals at 81 FR 39424 (June 16, 2016) and 82 FR
14446 (March 21, 2017), respectively. In today's action, the EPA is
proposing action on CARB's June 15, 2017 SIP revision submittal.
II. The State's Submittal
A. What regulations did the State submit?
On June 15, 2017, CARB submitted a SIP revision that included a set
of State mobile source regulations for which waivers or authorizations
have been granted by the EPA under section 209 of the CAA since the
previous related SIP revision submittal (i.e., since December 7, 2016).
The SIP revision consists of the regulations themselves and
documentation of the public process conducted by CARB in approving the
regulations as part of the California SIP. Table 1 below presents the
contents of the SIP revision by mobile source category and provides,
for each such category, a listing of the relevant sections of the
California Code of Regulations (CCR) that establish standards and other
requirements for control of emissions from new or in-use vehicles or
engines; the corresponding date of CARB's hearing date or Executive
Officer action through which the regulations or amendments were
adopted; and the notice of decision in which the EPA granted a waiver
or authorization for the given set of regulations.
Table 1--CARB SIP Revision Submittal Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Relevant sections of Date of relevant CARB
Source category California Code of hearing date or Executive EPA notice of decision
Regulations Officer action
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC).. 17 CCR Sec. 93118.5 June 24, 2010............... 82 FR 6500
(excluding (e)(1)), (January 19, 2017).
effective for State
law purposes on July
20, 2011.
In-Use Diesel-Fueled Transport 13 CCR Sec. Sec. October 21, 2011............ 82 FR 6525
Refrigeration Units (TRUs). 2477, 2477.1 through (January 19, 2017).
2477.21, effective
for State law
purposes on October
15, 2012.
On-Road Heavy-Duty Diesel (HDD) 13 CCR Sec. 1956.8, June 23, 2011............... 82 FR 4867
Engines. effective for State (January 17, 2017).
law purposes on
December 22, 2011,
and the document
incorporated by
reference (see table
2 below).
Off-Highway Recreational 13 CCR Sec. Sec. July 25, 2013............... 82 FR 6540
Vehicles (OHRVs). 2416, 2417, 2418, (January 19, 2017).
2419, 2419.1-2419.4,
effective for State
law purposes on April
1, 2015, and the
document incorporated
by reference (see
table 2 below).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The regulations submitted by CARB as part of the overall SIP
revision and listed in Table 1 incorporate by reference documents that
establish test procedures, among other things. Table 2 lists the
incorporated documents included in the SIP submittal.
Table 2--Documents Incorporated by Reference in CARB Regulations Listed
in Table 1 and Submitted as Part of SIP Revision
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
On-Road Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines:
California Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for 2004
and Subsequent Model Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines and Vehicles, as
last amended October 12, 2011.
Off-Highway Recreational Vehicles and Engines:
Test Procedure for Determining Evaporative Emissions from Off-
Highway Recreational Vehicles (TP-933), dated November 5, 2014.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
We note that CARB has expressly excluded 17 CCR Sec. 93118.5(e)(1)
from consideration as part of the SIP revision on the grounds that it
is not preempted and thus not included in the EPA's authorization of
the amended CHC regulations. The excluded provision requires use of low
sulfur fuel by all commercial harbor craft within certain California
waters with certain exceptions. This same provision was excluded from
the SIP submittal of the original CHC regulations, which the EPA
approved at 81 FR 39424 (June 16, 2016).
[[Page 8405]]
B. Are there other versions of these regulations?
Historically, as noted above, CARB regulations subject to the
section 209 waiver or authorization process were not submitted to the
EPA as a revision to the California SIP. However, in the wake of the
Ninth Circuit's decision in Committee for a Better Arvin v. EPA, on
August 14, 2015, CARB submitted a large set of mobile source
regulations that had been issued waivers or authorizations to the EPA
as a SIP revision. The EPA took final approval action on this first set
of regulations on June 16, 2016 (81 FR 39424). CARB's initial set of
regulations included regulations establishing standards and other
requirements relating to the control of emissions from new on-road
vehicles and engines, including certain requirements related to on-road
HDD vehicle and engines, from new and in-use off-road vehicles and
engines, including certain requirements related to CHC, TRUs, and
OHRVs. On December 7, 2016, CARB submitted a second set of mobile
source regulations, i.e., those for which waivers or authorizations had
been issued since August 2015, and the EPA approved them on March 21,
2017 (82 FR 14446). CARB's December 7, 2016 SIP revision submittal
contained certain amended on-board diagnostic system regulations for
new on-road vehicles and engines and certain amendments to the
regulations affecting off-road large spark-ignition engines, small off-
road engines, and off-road compression-ignition engines. CARB's June
15, 2017 SIP revision submittal represents the third set of mobile
source regulations, which include regulations for which the EPA issued
waivers or authorization since December 2016. This third set of
regulations consists of amendments to the previously-approved
regulations for on-road HDD engines, CHC, TRUs, and OHRVs.
C. What is the purpose of the submitted regulations?
California has experienced some of the most severe and most
persistent air pollution problems in the country. Under the CAA, based
on ambient data collected at numerous sites throughout the State, the
EPA has designated areas within California as nonattainment areas for
the ozone NAAQS and the particulate matter (PM) NAAQS, which includes
both coarse and fine particulate (i.e., PM10 and
PM2.5). See, generally, 40 CFR 81.305. Several areas in
California that had been designated as nonattainment areas for the
carbon monoxide NAAQS have been redesignated by the EPA as attainment
areas because they have attained the standard and are subject to an
approved maintenance plan demonstrating how they will maintain the
carbon monoxide standard into the future.
Mobile source emissions constitute a significant portion of overall
emissions of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds (VOC), oxides
of nitrogen (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and PM in
the various air quality planning areas within California, and thus, the
purpose of CARB's mobile source regulations is to reduce these
emissions and thereby reduce ambient concentrations to attain and
maintain the NAAQS throughout California.\2\ At elevated levels, ozone
and PM harm human health and the environment by contributing to
premature mortality, aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular
disease, decreased lung function, visibility impairment, and damage to
vegetation and ecosystems.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ VOC and NOX are precursors responsible for the
formation of ozone, and NOX and SO2 are
precursors for PM2.5. SO2 belongs to a family
of compounds referred to as sulfur oxides. PM2.5
precursors also include VOC and ammonia. See 40 CFR 51.1000.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
D. What requirements do the regulations establish?
Table 3 below generally describes the amended regulations listed in
table 1 above and summarizes some of the key emissions control
requirements contained in the rules.
Table 3--General Description of Requirements Established in the Mobile
Source Regulations Included in the June 15, 2017 SIP Revision
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Description of requirements in
Source category submitted regulations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC)..... The 2011 amendments to the CHC
regulations set forth a variety of
in-use requirements, including
extending the applicability of the
CHC regulations to in-use crew and
supply, barge and dredge vessels
that are equipped with federal Tier
0 and Tier 1 propulsion and
auxiliary marine engines that
operate within 24 miles seaward of
the California coastline; eliminate
certain exemptions for CHC engines
that had been registered in a
different CARB program; allow EPA
or CARB Tier 2 or higher tier
certified off-road engines to be
used as auxiliary or propulsion
engines in both new and in-use CHC
vessels; and clarify requirements
and address certain issues that
have arisen during CARB's
implementation of the original CHC
regulations. For more information,
see 82 FR 6500 (January 19, 2017).
In-Use Diesel-Fueled Transport The 2011 amendments to the TRU
Refrigeration Units (TRU). regulations primarily provide
owners of TRU engines with certain
flexibilities; clarify
recordkeeping requirements for
certain types of TRU engines;
establish requirements for
businesses that arrange, hire,
contract, or dispatch the transport
of goods in TRU-equipped trucks,
trailers, or containers; and
address other issues that arose
during the initial implementation
of CARB's TRU regulation. For more
information, see 82 FR 6525
(January 19, 2017).
On-Road Heavy-Duty Diesel (HDD) The 2011 amendments to the HDD in-
Engines. use compliance regulations
establish a new PM measurement
allowance consistent with
amendments by the EPA to the
corresponding federal program; and
clarify an exemption for certain
armored cars and workover rigs. For
more information, see 82 FR 4867
(January 17, 2017).
Off-Highway Recreational Vehicles The 2014 amendments to the OHRV
(OHRVs). regulations establish a new
evaporative emission standard of
1.0 gram per day for the complete
OHRV fuel system which includes
running losses (evaporative
emissions generated during vehicle
operation), hot soak (evaporative
emissions generated directly after
vehicle operation), and diurnal
losses (evaporative emissions
generated during long term
storage); establish diurnal and
fuel system leakage standards and
associated test procedures for 2018
and subsequent model year OHRVs;
and establish certain durability
test procedures and other test
procedure provisions for
preconditioning evaporative
emission control systems and
components, running loss and hot
soak preconditioning tests, and
test procedures for the 72-hour and
steady-state diurnal tests. The
California OHRV category
encompasses a wide variety of
vehicles, including off-road
motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles,
off-road sport and utility
vehicles, sand cars, and golf
carts. For more information, see 82
FR 6540 (January 19, 2017).
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[[Page 8406]]
III. EPA's Evaluation and Proposed Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the regulations?
The EPA has evaluated the submitted regulations discussed above
against the applicable procedural and substantive requirements of the
CAA for SIPs and SIP revisions and has concluded that they meet all the
applicable requirements. Generally, SIPs must include enforceable
emission limitations and other control measures, means, or techniques,
as well as schedules and timetables for compliance, as may be necessary
to meet the requirements of the Act (see CAA section 110(a)(2)(A));
must provide necessary assurances that the state will have adequate
personnel, funding, and authority under state law to carry out such SIP
(and is not prohibited by any provision of federal or state law from
carrying out such SIP) (see CAA section 110(a)(2)(E)); must be adopted
by a state after reasonable notice and public hearing (see CAA section
110(l)); and must not interfere with any applicable requirement
concerning attainment and reasonable further progress, or any other
applicable requirement of the Act (see CAA section 110(l)).\3\
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\3\ CAA section 193, which prohibits any pre-1990 SIP control
requirement relating to nonattainment pollutants in nonattainment
areas from being modified unless the SIP is revised to insure
equivalent or greater emission reductions of such air pollutants,
does not apply to these regulations because they are new regulations
or amend regulations previously approved in the California SIP in
2016, and thus, do not constitute an amendment to a pre-1990 SIP
control requirement.
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B. Do the State's regulations meet CAA SIP evaluation criteria?
1. Did the state provide adequate public notification and comment
periods?
Under CAA section 110(l), SIP revisions must be adopted by the
state, and the state must provide for reasonable public notice and
hearing prior to adoption. In 40 CFR 51.102(d), we specify that
reasonable public notice in this context refers to at least 30 days.
All the submitted regulations have gone through extensive public
comment processes including CARB's workshop and hearing processes prior
to State adoption of each rule. Also, the EPA's waiver and
authorization processes provide an opportunity for the public to submit
written comment and to request public hearings to present information
relevant to the EPA's consideration of CARB's request for waiver or
authorization under section 209 of the CAA.
In addition, on June 19, 2015, CARB published a notice of public
hearing to consider adoption and submittal of certain adopted
regulations as a revision to the California SIP including those
submitted by CARB on June 15, 2017. CARB held the public hearing on
July 23, 2015. No written comments were submitted to CARB on the
proposed SIP revision, and no public comments were made at the public
hearing. CARB adopted the SIP revision at the July 23, 2015 Board
Hearing (see Board Resolution 15-40) and submitted the relevant mobile
source regulations to the EPA along with evidence of the public process
conducted by CARB in adopting the SIP revision.\4\ We conclude that
CARB's June 15, 2017 SIP revision submittal meets the applicable
procedural requirements for SIP revisions under the CAA section 110(l)
and 40 CFR 51.102.
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\4\ In addition to CARB's June 15, 2017 submittal, prior
submittals of relevant mobile source regulations were made on August
14, 2015 and December 7, 2016. The EPA took final actions on the
2015 and 2016 submittals on June 16, 2016 (81 FR 39424) and March
21, 2017 (82 FR 14446), respectively.
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2. Does the state have adequate legal authority to implement the
regulations?
CARB has been granted both general and specific authority under the
California Health & Safety Code (H&SC) to adopt and implement these
regulations. California H&SC sections 39600 (``Acts required'') and
39601 (``Adoption of regulation; Conformance to federal law'') confer
on CARB the general authority and obligation to adopt regulations and
measures necessary to execute CARB's powers and duties imposed by State
law. California H&SC sections 43013(a) and 43018 provide broad
authority to achieve the maximum feasible and cost-effective emission
reductions from all mobile source categories. Regarding in-use motor
vehicles, California H&SC sections 43600 and 43701(b), respectively,
grant CARB authority to adopt emission standards and emission control
equipment requirements.
The mobile source regulations that are the subject of today's
action were submitted by CARB under CAA section 209 with a request for
waiver or authorization and were granted such waiver or authorization
by the EPA. Thus, the regulations we are proposing to approve today are
not preempted under the CAA. For additional information regarding
California's motor vehicle emission standards, please see the EPA's
``California Waivers and Authorizations'' web page at URL address:
https://www.epa.gov/otaq/cafr.htm. This website also lists relevant
Federal Register notices that have been issued by the EPA is response
to California waiver and authorization requests.
In addition, the EPA is unaware of any non-CAA legal obstacle to
CARB's enforcement of the regulations and thus we conclude that CARB
has provided the necessary assurances that the State has adequate
authority under State law to carry out the SIP revision (and is not
prohibited by any provision of federal or State law from carrying out
such SIP) and thereby meets the requirements of CAA section
110(a)(2)(E) with respect to legal authority.
3. Are the regulations enforceable as required under CAA section
110(a)(2)?
We have evaluated the enforceability of the amended mobile source
regulations with respect to applicability and exemptions; standard of
conduct and compliance dates; sunset provisions; discretionary
provisions; and test methods, recordkeeping and reporting,\5\ and have
concluded for the reasons given below that the amended regulations
would be enforceable for the purposes of CAA section 110(a)(2).
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\5\ These concepts are discussed in detail in an EPA memorandum
from J. Craig Potter, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and
Radiation, et al., titled ``Review of State Implementation Plans and
Revisions for Enforceability and Legal Sufficiency,'' dated
September 23, 1987.
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First, with respect to applicability, we find that the amended
regulations are sufficiently clear as to which persons and which
vehicles or engines are affected by the regulations. See, e.g., 13 CCR
sections 2416(a) and (b) (applicability and exemption provisions for
OHRV evaporative emissions requirements), 13 CCR sections 2477.2 and
2477.3 (applicability and exemption provisions for in-use diesel-fueled
TRUs), and 17 CCR sections 93118.5(b) and (c) (applicability and
exemption provisions for commercial harbor craft).
Second, we find that the amended regulations are sufficiently
specific so that the persons affected by the regulations are on notice
as to what the requirements and related compliance dates are. For
instance, see the evaporative emission standards and test procedures
set forth for OHRVs in 13 CCR section 2418, the in-use compliance dates
for TRUs in 13 CCR section 2477.5(b), and the engine emission
requirements in 17 CCR sections 93118.5(e)(2)-(6).
Third, none of the amended regulations contain sunset provisions
that automatically repeal the emissions limits by a given date or upon
the occurrence of a particular event, such as
[[Page 8407]]
the change in the designation of an area from nonattainment to
attainment.
Fourth, a number of the amended regulations contain provisions that
allow for discretion on the part of CARB's Executive Officer. Such
``director's discretion'' provisions can undermine enforceability of a
SIP regulation, and thus prevent full approval by the EPA. However, in
the instances of ``director's discretion'' in the amended regulations,
the discretion that can be exercised by the CARB Executive Officer is
reasonably limited under the terms of the regulations. For instance, in
17 CCR 93118.5(e)(6)(E), the Executive Officer may grant a time-limited
extension to the compliance date that would otherwise apply only for
specific reasons and under limited circumstances as set forth in the
regulation. With such constraints on discretion, the ``director's
discretion'' contained in the amended regulations would not
significantly undermine enforceability of the rules by citizens or the
EPA.
Lastly, the amended regulations identify appropriate test methods
and include adequate recordkeeping and reporting requirements
sufficient to ensure compliance with the applicable requirements.
4. Do the regulations interfere with reasonable further progress and
attainment or any other applicable requirement of the Act?
All the State's reasonable further progress (RFP), attainment, and
maintenance plans rely to some extent on the emission reductions from
CARB's mobile source program, including the emissions standards and
other requirements for which the EPA has issued waivers or
authorizations. CARB's mobile source program is reflected in the
emissions estimates for mobile sources that are included in the
emissions inventories that form the quantitative basis for the RFP,
attainment, and maintenance demonstrations. Based on CARB estimates,
the amended regulations evaluated herein would, considered together,
reduce VOC, NOX, and PM emissions by approximately 1,220
tons per year (tpy), 270 tpy, and 20 tpy, respectively, on a statewide
basis in year 2023.\6\ As such, the amended regulations would support
the various RFP, attainment, and maintenance plans, and would not
interfere with such requirements for the purposes of CAA section
110(l).
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\6\ The emissions estimates are based on emissions presented in
the Initial Statement of Reasons (ISOR) published by CARB for each
of the four individual regulatory actions considered herein. The
relevant ISORs are included in the docket for this rulemaking.
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5. Will the state have adequate personnel and funding for the
regulations?
In its SIP revision submittal dated August 14, 2015, CARB refers to
the annual approval by the California Legislature of funding and staff
resources for carrying out CAA-related responsibilities and notes that
a large portion of CARB's budget has gone toward meeting CAA
mandates.\7\ CARB indicates that a majority of CARB's funding comes
from dedicated fees collected from regulated emission sources and other
sources such as vehicle registration fees and vehicles license plate
fees and that these funds can only be used for air pollution control
activities. Id. For the 2014-2015 budget cycle, CARB had over 700
positions and almost $500 million dedicated to the mobile source
program developing and enforcing regulations. Id. Given the
longstanding nature of CARB's mobile source program, and its documented
effectiveness at achieving significant reductions from mobile sources,
we find that CARB has provided necessary assurances that the State has
adequate personnel and funding to carry out the amended mobile source
regulations submitted for approval on June 15, 2017.
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\7\ Letter from Richard W. Corey, Executive Officer, CARB, to
Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator, EPA Region IX, August 14,
2015.
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6. EPA's Evaluation Conclusion
Based on the above discussion, we believe these regulations are
consistent with the relevant CAA requirements and with relevant EPA
policies and guidance.
C. Proposed Action and Public Comment
Under section 110(k)(3) of the CAA, and for the reasons given
above, we are proposing to approve a SIP revision submitted by CARB on
June 15, 2017, that includes certain sections of titles 13 and 17 of
the California Code of Regulations that establish standards and other
requirements relating to the control of emissions from certain new and
in-use on-road and off-road vehicles and engines. We are proposing to
approve these regulations as part of the California SIP because we
believe they fulfill all relevant CAA requirements. We will accept
comments from the public on this proposal until March 29, 2018. If we
finalize this action as proposed, the submitted regulations will be
incorporated into the federally enforceable SIP for the State of
California.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this action, the EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is proposing to incorporate by
reference of certain sections of titles 13 and 17 of the California
Code of Regulations that establish standards and other requirements
relating to the control of emissions from certain new on-road and new
and in-use off-road vehicles and engines, as described in section II of
this preamble. The EPA has made, and will continue to make, these
documents generally available electronically through
www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at the appropriate EPA office (see
the ADDRESSES section of this preamble for more information).
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and
applicable federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a).
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act.
Accordingly, this proposed action merely proposes to approve state law
as meeting federal requirements and does not impose additional
requirements beyond those imposed by state law. For that reason, this
proposed action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21,
2011);
Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2,
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under
Executive Order 12866;
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
Does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive
[[Page 8408]]
Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the Clean Air Act; and
Does not provide the EPA with the discretionary authority
to address disproportionate human health or environmental effects with
practical, appropriate, and legally permissible methods under Executive
Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian
reservation land or in any other area where the EPA or an Indian tribe
has demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of
Indian country, the proposed rule does not have tribal implications and
will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or
preempt tribal law as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249,
November 9, 2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: February 15, 2018.
Alexis Strauss,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2018-03992 Filed 2-26-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
