[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 81 (Friday, April 27, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20977-20980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-8103]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 94

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0120; FRL-8306-6]
RIN 2060-A026


Change in Deadline for Rulemaking To Address the Control of 
Emissions From New Marine Compression-Ignition Engines at or Above 30 
Liters per Cylinder

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed Rule.

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SUMMARY: A January 2003 final rule established the first U.S. emission 
standards for new compression-ignition Category 3 marine engines, those 
with a displacement at or above 30 liters per cylinder displacement. It 
also established a deadline of April 27, 2007 for EPA to promulgate a 
new tier of emission standards for these engines as determined 
appropriate under Clean Air Act (CAA) section 213(a). This rulemaking 
schedule was intended to allow EPA time to consider the state of 
technology that may permit deeper emission reductions and the status of 
international action for more stringent standards. Since 2003, we have 
continued to gain a greater understanding of the technical issues 
described in the final rule and to assess the continuing efforts of 
manufacturers to apply advanced emission control technologies to these 
very large engines, through ongoing discussions with various 
stakeholders. In addition, we have continued to work with and through 
the International Maritime Organization (IMO) toward more stringent 
international emission standards that would apply to all new marine 
diesel engines on ships engaged in international transportation. IMO is 
an important forum for EPA to gather new information and data regarding 
emission control technologies, costs, and other information on Category 
3 engines and vessels. IMO is also important because the majority of 
ships

[[Page 20978]]

used in international commerce are flagged in other nations. Due to the 
length of time necessary to assess advanced emission control 
technologies much of the information that we believe is necessary to 
develop more stringent Category 3 marine diesel engines standards has 
only become available recently and we expect more information to come 
to light in the course of the current negotiations underway at the IMO. 
Therefore, EPA is proposing a new deadline for the rulemaking that will 
consider the next tier of Category 3 marine diesel engine standards. 
Under this new schedule, EPA would adopt a final rule by December 17, 
2009. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal 
Register, we are making this revision as a direct final rule without a 
prior proposed rule. If we receive no adverse comment, we will not take 
further action on this proposed rule.

DATES: Written comments must be received by May 29, 2007. If a public 
hearing is requested no later than May 17, 2007, it will be held at a 
time and place to be published in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-0120, by mail to Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 
6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC, 20460. Please 
include two copies. Comments may also be submitted electronically or 
through hand delivery/courier, or a public hearing may be requested, by 
following the detailed instructions in the ADDRESSES section of the 
direct final rule located in the rules section of this Federal 
Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Samulski, Assessment and 
Standards Division, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, 2000 
Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105; telephone number: (734) 214-
4532; fax number: (734) 214-4050; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Why Is EPA Issuing This Proposed Rule?

    This document proposes to take action on changing the regulatory 
deadline for a rulemaking to address the control of emissions from new 
marine compression-ignition engines at or above 30 liters per cylinder. 
We have published a direct final rule making this revision in the 
``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal Register because we 
view this as a relatively noncontroversial action and anticipate no 
adverse comment. We have explained our reasons for this action in the 
preamble to the direct final rule.
    If we receive no adverse comment or a request for a public hearing, 
we will not take further action on this proposed rule. Otherwise, we 
will withdraw the direct final rule and it will not take effect. We 
would address all public comments in any subsequent final rule based on 
this proposed rule.
    We do not intend to institute a second comment period on this 
action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time. 
For further information, please see the information provided in the 
ADDRESSES section of this document.

II. Does This Action Apply to Me?

    This action will affect companies that manufacture, sell, or import 
into the United States new marine compression-ignition engines for use 
on vessels flagged or registered in the United States; companies and 
persons that make vessels that will be flagged or registered in the 
United States and that use such engines; and the owners or operators of 
such U.S. vessels. This action may also affect companies and persons 
that rebuild or maintain these engines. Affected categories and 
entities include the following:

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                                                 Examples of potentially
            Category              NAICS code a      affected entities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industry.......................          333618  Manufacturers of new
                                                  marine diesel engines.
Industry.......................          336611  Manufacturers of marine
                                                  vessels.
Industry.......................          811310  Engine repair and
                                                  maintenance.
Industry.......................             483  Water transportation,
                                                  freight and passenger.
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

    This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by this 
action. To determine whether particular activities may be affected by 
this action, you should carefully examine the regulations. You may 
direct questions regarding the applicability of this action as noted in 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

III. Summary of Rule

    This proposed rule would make a revision to the regulations to 
implement the following amendment:
     Extend the regulatory deadline to promulgate a new tier of 
standards for Category 3 marine engines by amending Sec.  
94.8(a)(2)(ii), so that the date is on or before December 17, 2009.
    For additional discussion of the proposed rule change, see the 
direct final rule EPA has published in the ``Rules and Regulations'' 
section of today's Federal Register. This proposal incorporates by 
reference all the reasoning, explanation, and regulatory text from the 
direct final rule. Furthermore, elsewhere in today's Federal Register, 
EPA is publishing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which 
describes EPA's current thinking with regard to potential new 
requirements for C3 marine engines and identifies and discusses a 
number of important issues upon which EPA is seeking comment.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review

    This proposed rule is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under 
the terms of Executive Order (EO) 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) 
and is therefore not subject to review under the EO. This proposed rule 
merely changes the regulatory schedule for a rulemaking to address 
emissions from Category 3 marine engines. There are no new costs 
associated with this proposed rule.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This action does not impose any new information collection burden. 
This direct final rule merely changes the regulatory schedule for a 
rulemaking to address emissions from Category 3 marine engines. 
However, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has previously 
approved the information collection requirements contained in the 
existing regulations [40 CFR 94] under the provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and has assigned OMB control 
number 2060-0287, EPA ICR number 1684.08. A copy of the OMB approved 
Information Collection Request (ICR) may be obtained from Susan Auby, 
Collection Strategies Division; U.S. Environmental

[[Page 20979]]

Protection Agency (2822T); 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 
20460 or by calling (202) 566-1672.
    Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources 
expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or 
provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time 
needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize 
technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and 
verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and 
disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to 
comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; 
train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; 
search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; 
and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's 
regulations in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires an agency 
to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to 
notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative 
Procedure Act or any other statute unless the agency certifies that the 
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. Small entities include small businesses, 
small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions.
    For purposes of assessing the impacts of this proposed rule on 
small entities, a small entity is defined as: (1) A small business that 
meet the definition for business based on SBA size standards at 13 CFR 
121.201; (2) a small governmental jurisdiction that is a government of 
a city, county, town, school district or special district with a 
population of less than 50,000; and (3) a small organization that is 
any not-for-profit enterprise which is independently owned and operated 
and is not dominant in its field.
    After considering the economic impacts of today's proposed rule on 
small entities, I certify that this action will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. In 
determining whether a rule has a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities, the impact of concern is any 
significant adverse economic impact on small entities, since the 
primary purpose of the regulatory flexibility analyses is to identify 
and address regulatory alternatives ``which minimize any significant 
economic impact of the rule on small entities.'' 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604. 
Thus, an agency may certify that a rule will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities if the rule 
relieves regulatory burden, or otherwise has a positive economic effect 
on all of the small entities subject to the rule.
    This proposed rule merely changes the regulatory schedule for a 
rulemaking to address emissions from Category 3 marine engines. We have 
therefore concluded that today's proposed rule will relieve regulatory 
burden for all affected small. We continue to be interested in the 
potential impacts of the proposed rule on small entities and welcome 
comments on issues related to such impacts.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    This proposed rule contains no federal mandates for state, local, 
tribal governments, or the private sector as defined by the provisions 
of Title II of the UMRA. The proposed rule imposes no enforceable 
duties on any of these governmental entities. This proposed rule 
contains no regulatory requirements that would significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments. EPA has determined that this 
proposed rule contains no federal mandates that may result in 
expenditures of more than $100 million to the private sector in any 
single year. This proposed rule merely changes the regulatory schedule 
for a rulemaking to address emissions from Category 3 marine engines. 
See the direct final rule EPA has published in the ``Rules and 
Regulations'' section of today's Federal Register for a more extensive 
discussion of UMRA policy.

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    This proposed rule does not have federalism implications. It will 
not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship 
between the national government and the States, or on the distribution 
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government, 
as specified in Executive Order 13132. This proposed rule merely 
changes the regulatory schedule for a rulemaking to address emissions 
from Category 3 marine engines. See the direct final rule EPA has 
published in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of today's Federal 
Register for a more extensive discussion of Executive Order 13132.

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    This proposed rule does not have tribal implications. It will not 
have substantial direct effects on tribal governments, on the 
relationship between the Federal government and Indian tribes, or on 
the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
government and Indian tribes, as specified in Executive Order 13175. 
This proposed rule does not uniquely affect the communities of Indian 
Tribal Governments. Further, no circumstances specific to such 
communities exist that would cause an impact on these communities 
beyond those discussed in the other sections of this rule. This 
proposed rule merely changes the regulatory schedule for a rulemaking 
to address emissions from Category 3 marine engines. Thus, Executive 
Order 13175 does not apply to this rule. See the direct final rule EPA 
has published in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of today's 
Federal Register for a more extensive discussion of Executive Order 
13132.

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health and Safety Risks

    This proposed rule is not subject to the Executive Order because it 
is not economically significant, and does not involve decisions on 
environmental health or safety risks that may disproportionately affect 
children. See the direct final rule EPA has published in the ``Rules 
and Regulations'' section of today's Federal Register for a more 
extensive discussion of Executive Order 13045.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This proposed rule is not a ``significant energy action'' as 
defined in Executive Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 
28355, May 22, 2001) because it is not likely to have a significant 
adverse effect on the supply, distribution or use of energy. This 
proposed rule merely changes the regulatory schedule for a rulemaking 
to address emissions from Category 3 marine engines.

I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act

    This proposed rule does not involve technical standards. Therefore, 
EPA is not considering the use of any voluntary consensus standards. 
This proposed rule merely changes the regulatory

[[Page 20980]]

schedule for a rulemaking to address emissions from Category 3 marine 
engines. Thus, we have determined that the requirements of the NTTAA do 
not apply. See the direct final rule EPA has published in the ``Rules 
and Regulations'' section of today's Federal Register for a more 
extensive discussion of NTTAA policy.

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

    EPA has determined that this proposed rule will not have 
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects on minority or low-income populations because it does not 
affect the level of protection provided to human health or the 
environment. See the direct final rule EPA has published in the ``Rules 
and Regulations'' section of today's Federal Register for a more 
extensive discussion of Executive Order 13045.

K. Statutory Authority

    The statutory authority for this action comes from section 213 of 
the Clean Air Act as amended (42 U.S.C. 7547). This action is a notice 
of proposed rulemaking subject to the provisions of Clean Air Act 
section 307(d). See 42 U.S.C. 7607(d).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 94

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Confidential business information, Imports, 
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Vessels, 
Warranties.

    Dated: April 23, 2007.
Stephen L. Johnson,
Administrator.
 [FR Doc. E7-8103 Filed 4-26-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P