[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 81 (Thursday, April 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22034-22036]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8529]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[AMS-FRL-7905-3]


California State Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Standards; 
Notice of Within-the-Scope Determination for Amendments to California's 
Low Emission Vehicle Standards (``LEV II'')

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice regarding within-the-scope determination.

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SUMMARY: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) requested that EPA 
confirm CARB's finding that two sets of

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follow-up amendments to its LEV II regulations, which were approved by 
the CARB Board on November 15, 2001 and December 12, 2002, 
respectively, are within-the-scope of an existing EPA waiver of federal 
preemption. In a separate request, CARB requested EPA to grant a full 
waiver for a particular provision contained in one of these sets of LEV 
II amendments, and thus to not include that provision as part of the 
within-the-scope request. EPA in this notice has made the requested 
confirmation that the amendments in CARB's within-the-scope request are 
within-the-scope of the existing waiver. EPA will in a subsequent 
Federal Register notice consider the request for a full waiver for the 
separate provision.

DATES: Any objections to the findings in this notice regarding EPA's 
determination that California's amendments are within-the-scope of a 
previous waiver must be filed by May 31, 2005. Otherwise, at the end of 
this 30-day period, these findings will become final. Upon receipt of 
any timely objection, EPA will consider scheduling a public hearing to 
reconsider these findings in a subsequent Federal Register notice.

ADDRESSES: Any objections to the within-the-scope findings in this 
notice should be filed with David Dickinson at the address noted below. 
The Agency's Decision Document, containing an explanation of the 
Assistant Administrator's decision, as well as all documents relied 
upon in making that decision, including those submitted to EPA by CARB, 
are contained in the public docket. The official public docket is the 
collection of materials that is available for public viewing. The EPA 
Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number 
for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number 
for the Air and Radiation Docket is (202) 566-1743. The reference 
number for this docket is OAR-2004-0057. The location of the Docket 
Center is the Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room 
B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. Copies of the 
Decision Document for this determination can also be obtained by 
contacting David Dickinson as noted below, or can be accessed on the 
EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality Web site, also noted 
below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Dickinson, Attorney-Advisor, 
Certification and Compliance Division, (6405J), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460. 
Telephone: (202) 343-9256, Fax: (202) 343-2804, E-Mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Electronic Copies of Documents

    Electronic copies of this Notice and the accompanying Decision 
Document are available via the Internet on the Office of Transportation 
and Air Quality (OTAQ) Web site (http://www.epa.gov/OTAQ). Users can 
find these documents by accessing the OTAQ Home Page and looking at the 
path entitled ``Chronological List of All OTAQ Regulations.'' This 
service is free of charge, except for any cost you already incur for 
Internet connectivity. The official Federal Register version of the 
notice is made available on the day of publication on the primary Web 
site (http://www.epa.gov/docs/fedrgstr/EPA-AIR/).
    Please note that due to differences between the software used to 
develop the documents and the software into which the documents may be 
downloaded, changes in format, page length, etc. may occur.
    Docket: An electronic version of the public docket is available 
through EPA's electronic public docket and comment system. You may use 
EPA dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to submit or view the public 
comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official 
public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that 
are available electronically. Although a part of the official docket, 
the public docket does not include Confidential Business Information 
(CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Once in the edocket system, select ``search,'' then key in the 
appropriate docket ID number. \1\
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    \1\ CARB's ``first'' set of LEV II follow-up amendments, which 
included the ``cleaner federal vehicle'' provisions, were adopted by 
the CARB Board on December 27, 2000, and were covered by EPA's LEV 
II waiver published April 22, 2003. The ``second'' set of follow-up 
amendments included an amendment to section 1962, title 13, CCR, the 
section regarding zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). The LEV II waiver 
previously issued by EPA does not include this provision and by 
today's decision EPA is also not considering the ZEV provisions. The 
second set of amendments also include a provision in a table at 
section 1961(a)(1), title 13, CCR, which has the effect of making 
the particulate standard applicable to all motor vehicles regardless 
of fuel (the previous regulation only applied to diesel-fueled 
vehicles). Per CARB's request of December 20, 2004 (see OAR-2004-
0057-0031) EPA is not considering this provision as part of today's 
decision.
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II. Second Set of LEV II Amendments

    I have determined that these amendments to the CARB's LEV II 
regulation are within-the-scope of a prior waiver issued under section 
209(b) of the Clean Air Act (Act), 42 U.S.C. 7543(b), granted by EPA to 
CARB.\2\ The amendments to the regulations, outlined in CARB's request 
letter \3\, and fully described in CARB's submissions, provide for: (1) 
An NMOG certification factor to account for carbonyls and a statement 
of compliance for meeting the formaldehyde standards in lieu of full 
testing; (2) an extension of the generic reactivity adjustment factors 
(RAFs); (3) revisions to the emission offset requirements for ``AB 
965'' vehicles which allow new vehicles certified to EPA emission 
levels (as opposed to CARB's standards) to be averaged into a 
manufacturer's fleet mix in California; (4) additional intermediate in-
use compliance standards for light-duty trucks engineered for heavier 
duty cycles that have a base payload capacity of 2,500 lbs. or higher, 
or for vehicles certified to CARB's optional 150,000 mile standards; 
(5) revisions to California's NMOG test procedures; and (6) revisions 
to the fleet average NMOG requirements for independent low volume 
manufacturers.
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    \2\ EPA previously granted CARB a waiver of federal preemption 
for the LEV II standards. (68 FR 19811 (April 22, 2003)).
    \3\ Docket entry OAR 2004-0057-0002, letter to EPA, from CARB, 
dated April 12, 2004.
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    In an April 12, 2004 letter to EPA, CARB notified EPA of the above-
described amendments to its LEV II regulations and asked EPA to confirm 
that these amendments are within-the-scope of EPA's previous waiver for 
the LEV II regulation. EPA can make such a confirmation if certain 
conditions are present. Specifically, if California acts to amend a 
previously waived standard or accompanying enforcement procedure, the 
amendment may be considered within-the-scope of a previously granted 
waiver provided that it does not undermine California's determination 
that its standards in the aggregate are as protective of public health 
and welfare as applicable Federal standards, does not affect the 
consistency with section 202(a) of the Act, and raises no new issues 
affecting EPA's previous authorization determination.\4\
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    \4\ Decision Document accompanying scope of waiver determination 
in 51 FR 12391 (April 10, 1986).
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    In its request letter, CARB stated that the amendments will not 
cause the California standards, in the aggregate, to be less protective 
of public health and welfare than the applicable Federal standards. 
Regarding consistency with

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section 202(a), CARB stated that the amendments do not raise any 
concerns of inadequate leadtime or technological feasibility or impose 
any inconsistent certification requirements (compared to the Federal 
requirements). Finally, CARB stated that the amendments raise no new 
issues affecting the prior EPA authorization determinations.
    EPA's analysis confirms CARB's finding that the criteria for these 
amendments meeting a within-the-scope designation have been met. Thus, 
EPA finds that these amendments are within-the-scope of a previous 
waiver. A full explanation of EPA's decision is contained in a Decision 
Document which may be obtained from EPA as noted above.

III. Third Set of LEV II Amendments

    I have determined that the third set of amendments to the CARB's 
LEV II regulation are within-the-scope of a prior waiver issued under 
section 209(b) of the Clean Air Act (Act), 42 U.S.C. 7543(b), granted 
by EPA to CARB.\5\ The amendments to the regulations, outlined in 
CARB's request letter \6\, and fully described in CARB's submissions, 
provide for: (1) A change in the allowed maintenance schedule for test 
vehicles to account for new full useful life periods; (2) revisions to 
the California Label Specifications; (3) revisions to the test cycle 
for direct ozone reduction technologies; (4) extending the high mileage 
testing requirement for vehicles certifying to the 150,000-mile 
emission standards; (5) corrections to the number of ``significant 
figures'' to be included in measuring the 50[deg] F standards; (6) 
clarification of onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) requirements 
for gaseous fueled vehicles; and (7) various minor changes to the LEV 
II regulatory language which have no new substantive effect.
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    \5\ EPA previously granted CARB a waiver of federal preemption 
for the LEV II standards. (68 FR 19811 (April 22, 2003)).
    \6\ Docket entry OAR-2004-0057-0001, letter to EPA, from CARB, 
dated April 12, 2004.
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    In an April 12, 2004 letter to EPA, CARB notified EPA of the above-
described amendments to its LEV II regulations and asked EPA to confirm 
that these amendments are within-the-scope of a previous waiver.
    In its request letter, CARB stated that the amendments will not 
cause the California standards, in the aggregate, to be less protective 
of public health and welfare than the applicable Federal standards. 
Regarding consistency with section 202(a), CARB stated that the 
amendments do not raise any concerns of inadequate leadtime or 
technological feasibility or impose any inconsistent certification 
requirements (compared to the Federal requirements). Finally, CARB 
stated that the amendments raise no new issues affecting the prior EPA 
waiver determination.
    EPA's analysis confirms CARB's finding that the criteria for these 
amendments meeting a within-the-scope designation have been met. Thus, 
EPA finds that these amendments are within-the-scope of previous 
authorizations. A full explanation of EPA's decision is contained in a 
Decision Document which may be obtained from EPA as noted above.
    Because these amendments are within the scope of a previous waiver, 
a public hearing to consider them is not necessary. However, if any 
party asserts an objection to these findings by May 31, 2005, EPA will 
consider holding a public hearing to provide interested parties an 
opportunity to present testimony and evidence to show that there are 
issues to be addressed through a section 209(b) waiver proceeding and 
that EPA should reconsider its findings. Otherwise, these findings will 
become final on May 31, 2005.
    My decision will affect not only persons in California but also the 
manufacturers outside the State who must comply with California's 
requirements in order to produce vehicles for sale in California. For 
this reason, I hereby determine and find that this is a final action of 
national applicability.
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, judicial review of this final 
action may be sought only in the United States Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia Circuit. Petitions for review must be filed by 
June 27, 2005. Under section 307(b)(2) of the Act, judicial review of 
this final action may not be obtained in subsequent enforcement 
proceedings.
    EPA's determination that these California regulations are within-
the-scope of a prior waiver determination by EPA does not constitute a 
significant regulatory action under the terms of Executive Order 12866 
and this action is therefore not subject to Office of Management and 
Budget review.
    In addition, this action is not a rule as defined in the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601(2). Therefore, EPA has not prepared a 
supporting regulatory flexibility analysis addressing the impact of 
this action on small business entities.
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, does not 
apply because this action is not a rule, for purposes of 5 U.S.C. 
804(3).
    Finally, the Administrator has delegated the authority to make 
determinations regarding waivers under section 209(b) of the Act to the 
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.

    Dated: April 21, 2005.
Jeffrey R. Holmstead,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 05-8529 Filed 4-27-05; 8:45 am]
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