[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 198 (Tuesday, October 14, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59233-59235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-25959]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No.: 2002-13234]


Denial of Petition for Rulemaking; Code of Federal Regulations

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Denial of petition for rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This document denies the petition submitted by Bluewater 
Network, requesting that NHTSA initiate rulemaking to amend testing and 
calculation procedures and/or correction factors used to determine the 
fuel economy information relayed to consumers and policy makers, 
because NHTSA has no statutory authority to take the requested actions. 
It also denies the request that NHTSA use such amended calculations as 
the basis for data presented in the agency's annual report on the 
corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) program.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Henrietta L. Spinner, Office of 
Planning and Consumer Standards, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20590 at (202) 366-4802, facsimile (202) 493-2290.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a letter dated June 11, 2002, the 
Bluewater Network (Bluewater) petitioned the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to initiate 
rulemaking to revise the test procedures, calculation methods, and 
correction factors employed in the calculations used to determine the 
fuel economy information relayed to consumers and policy makers so that 
these values more accurately reflect the actual, real-world fuel 
economy that vehicles achieve on the road. DOT's authority under the 
CAFE program has been delegated to NHTSA. The petitioner also requested 
that NHTSA use more accurate fuel economy information in its annual 
report to Congress titled Automotive Fuel Economy Program Annual 
Update.
    The Energy Policy Conservation Act passed by Congress in 1975 added 
Title V, ``Improving Automotive Efficiency,'' to the Motor Vehicle 
Information and Cost Savings Act and established the CAFE program, 
under which CAFE standards are set for passenger cars and light trucks. 
CAFE is the sales weighted average fuel economy, expressed in miles per 
gallon (mpg), of a manufacturer's fleet of passenger cars or light 
trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 8,500 lbs. or less, 
manufactured for sale in the United States, for any given model year.
    Both EPA and NHTSA have executive responsibilities for CAFE. The 
EPA administers the testing program, which generates the fuel economy 
data and determines the procedures for calculating the fuel economy 
values for CAFE. It also compiles the production data from 
manufacturers' reports and furnishes CAFE results to both NHTSA and 
Department of Energy (DOE).
    For CAFE, the test data are adjusted upward to account for the 
incentives authorized for dual fuel and dedicated alternative fuel 
vehicles. For passenger cars only, it is also adjusted upward to

[[Page 59234]]

account for test procedure changes since the CAFE program was 
established.
    The EPA and DOE annually publish the Fuel Economy Guide, listing 
the fuel efficiencies (in miles per gallon) of new passenger vehicles. 
The Fuel Economy Guide is published and distributed by DOE, based on 
EPA data. This document lists the city and highway fuel economy 
estimates that are included on the fuel economy label on new vehicles. 
Manufacturers are required to place a window sticker containing the 
city and highway fuel economy (mpg) values on all new cars and light 
trucks (less than 8,500 GVWR), when they are offered for sale or lease.
    NHTSA is responsible for establishing and amending the CAFE 
standards, promulgating regulations concerning CAFE procedures, 
definitions, and reports, considering petitions for exemption from 
standards for low volume manufacturers and establishing unique 
standards for them; enforcing fuel economy standards and regulations, 
responding to petitions concerning domestic production by foreign 
manufacturers and all other aspects of CAFE, including the 
classification of vehicle lines as either cars or trucks; collecting, 
recording, and cataloging manufacturers' Pre- and Mid-model year 
reports, considering carryback credit plans, and providing program 
incentives such as credits for alternative fueled vehicle lines.
    Three different sets of fuel economy values exist: EPA's unadjusted 
dynamometer values, EPA's adjusted on-road values as reported to 
consumers, and manufacturer fleet fuel economy values as reported to 
NHTSA. Unfortunately, confusion also exists, especially regarding the 
origins of each set and how they are employed. The EPA's unadjusted 
dynamometer values are calculated from the emissions generated during 
the testing using a carbon balance equation. EPA knows the amount of 
carbon in the fuel, so by measuring the carbon compounds expelled in 
the exhaust they can calculate the fuel economy.
    However, calculations using the carbon balance equation, in a 
controlled laboratory setting, overstate the fuel economy most people 
will achieve in real-world driving. To account for this, EPA conducted 
an extensive study in the early 1980s. In 1985, EPA adopted correction 
factors derived from the study to adjust downward the fuel economy 
values derived from the carbon balance equation, when the fuel economy 
would be reported to the public. The city test value measured, using 
the carbon balance equation, is reduced 10 percent with these 
correction factors, while the highway test value is reduced 22 percent. 
This downward adjustment of the fuel economy calculated from the carbon 
balance equation accounts for the differences between real-world 
driving and controlled laboratory conditions, and is used to provide 
more accurate information to prospective vehicle buyers. EPA has long 
reported its downward adjusted values as the fuel economy values listed 
in the Department of Energy's Fuel Economy Guide and on new vehicle 
labels. Thus, all of the fuel economy values that the Federal 
government uses for consumer information are EPA's downward-adjusted 
fuel economy levels.
    As previously noted, manufacturer fleet fuel economy values are 
calculated by EPA, using the carbon balance equation and adjusted 
upward, if necessary, to reflect incentives mandated by law. Reported 
by EPA to NHTSA, these values are not intended to be used by the public 
for consumer information, as the government's best estimate of the fuel 
economy the public will actually achieve. Instead, the manufacturer 
fleet fuel economy values are used to determine compliance with the 
applicable average fuel economy standards. Manufacturer performance is 
reported in NHTSA's Automotive Fuel Economy Program Annual Update. 
Until recently, there was a statutory requirement for NHTSA to submit 
this annual report to Congress. However, effective May 15, 2000, the 
reporting requirement was eliminated pursuant to the Federal Reports 
Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995. Nonetheless, the agency still 
voluntarily produces the report. The primary purpose of the report is 
to provide information regarding the status of vehicle manufacturers' 
compliance with the CAFE standards. Again, this update is not intended 
as consumer information.
    Bluewater petitioned EPA and NHTSA to initiate rulemaking to revise 
the test procedures, calculation methods, and correction factors 
employed in the calculations used to determine the fuel economy 
information relayed to consumers and policy makers so that these values 
more accurately reflect the actual, real-world fuel economy that 
vehicles achieve on the road.

Petitioner's Rationale

    The petitioner stated that, since the CAFE program's inception in 
the mid-1970s, motorists have complained that their actual in-use fuel 
economy was significantly lower than the fuel economy figures reported 
by EPA. Although 17 years have passed since EPA promulgated correction 
factors to adjust the city and highway fuel economy values, Bluewater 
asserts that drivers today continue to complain that they are not 
achieving the fuel economy displayed on the window sticker when they 
purchased their vehicle or published in the Fuel Economy Guide.
    Bluewater cited several recent studies that indicate EPA's real-
world fuel economy adjustments should be revised, including a report by 
Mintz and others,\1\ the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) 
Annual Energy Outlook 2000 publication,\2\ Fred Westbrook and Phil 
Patterson's 1989 study,\3\ and the National Research Council's 
report.\4\
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    \1\ Mintz, Marianne, Anant D. Vyas, and Lester A. Conley, 
``Differences Between EPA-Test and In-Use Fuel Economy: Are the 
Correction Factors Correct?'' Transportation Research Record 1416 
(1993), 124-130; EPA. Passenger Car Fuel Economy: EPA and Road.
    \2\ EIA. Assumptions to the Annual Energy Outlook 2000 with 
Projections to 2020: Transportation Demand Module. DOE/EIA-0554. 
January 2000.
    \3\ Westbrook, Fred and Patterson, Phil. ``Changing Driving 
Patterns and Their Effect on Fuel Economy.'' Presented at the 1989 
SAE Government/Industry Meeting, Washington, DC. May 1989.
    \4\ National Research Council. Effectiveness and Impact of 
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards. July 2001.
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    Bluewater stated that a 1993 study conducted by Mintz, et al. 
analyzed the shortfall experience of all household vehicles on the road 
in 1985, finding that the fuel economy shortfall was greater than the 
15 percent correction factor EPA extrapolated to adjust the combined 
fuel economy values (55 percent city/45 percent highway): 18.7 percent 
for cars and 20.1 percent for light trucks.
    The petitioner also stated that EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2000 
indicated that, in 2001, the difference between the EPA's combined fuel 
economy rating and actual on-road fuel economy was 14.5 percent for 
cars and 19.3 percent for light trucks. EIA also projected that the on-
road fuel economy shortfall will increase to 16.2 percent for cars and 
20.9 percent for light trucks by 2020.
    Westbrook and Patterson's 1989 study projected that the difference 
between the EPA's combined fuel economy rating and actual on-road fuel 
economy would rise above 29.7 percent by 2010.
    The National Research Council's recent report stated that most 
drivers experience lower fuel economy than suggested by EPA's results. 
Furthermore, it noted that a review of the validity of the test cycles 
for today's patterns would be appropriate.
    Bluewater believes that EPA should revise its on-road fuel economy 
adjustment factor and NHTSA should use the revised fuel economy values 
in

[[Page 59235]]

its reports because that data would relay to consumers and to Congress 
a more accurate reflection of today's driving conditions and the in-use 
fuel economy.

Agency's Analysis

    Under 49 U.S.C. 32904 and 32908, EPA is statutorily responsible for 
conducting fuel economy testing and calculating vehicle fuel economy, 
determining manufacturers' CAFE performances, and developing fuel 
economy data to be provided to consumers. Therefore, NHTSA simply does 
not have the statutory authority to grant the relief sought by the 
Bluewater petition. EPA is currently reviewing the petition and will 
address these issues separately.
    After analyzing Bluewater's petition, the agency has concluded that 
it should not change the information it presents in its annual report 
on the CAFE program. NHTSA is statutorily required to base its CAFE 
calculations on the data supplied by EPA, resulting from these test 
procedures. Given that a primary purpose of the annual report is to 
provide information on the status of manufacturers' compliance with the 
CAFE standards, we believe that presenting the CAFE values as they are 
calculated for compliance purposes is the appropriate manner in which 
to present fuel economy data in the annual report. The report is not 
intended for consumer information purposes, and the agency is no longer 
required to submit the report to Congress. Finally, we note the 
agency's most recent update of the report includes a discussion that 
thoroughly explains the differences between EPA fuel economy values, 
on-road values, and the CAFE compliance values.
    In light of the above considerations, the agency has reviewed the 
petition and concluded that it should not be granted. Accordingly, we 
deny Bluewater's petition. We note that this denial does not affect 
EPA's response to the petition.

    Issued on: October 8, 2003.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 03-25959 Filed 10-10-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P