[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50500-50502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20495]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[AMS-FRL 9716-8]


California State Nonroad Engine Pollution Control Standards; 
California Nonroad Compression Ignition Engines--In-Use Fleets; 
Authorization Request; Opportunity for Public Hearing and Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of opportunity for public hearing and comment.

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SUMMARY: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has notified EPA 
that it has adopted additional amendments to its emission standards for 
fleets that operate nonroad, diesel-fueled equipment with engines 25 
horsepower (hp) and greater. EPA previously announced an opportunity 
for public hearing and written comment on CARB's initial request for an 
authorization of its original regulations (73 FR 58585 (October 7, 
2008) and 73 FR 67509 (November 14, 2008)). EPA announced an additional 
opportunity for public hearing and written comment on certain CARB 
amendments to the original regulations (75 FR 11880 (March 12, 2010)). 
By this notice EPA is announcing a completely new public hearing and 
written comment period.

DATES: EPA has scheduled a public hearing on CARB's request on 
September 20, 2012, beginning at 10:00 a.m. The hearing will be held at 
1310 L St. NW., Washington, DC 20005. Parties wishing to present oral 
testimony at the public hearing should provide written notification to 
David Dickinson at the address noted below. Should you have further 
questions regarding the hearing, please contact David Dickinson or you 
may consult the following Web site for any updates: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cafr.htm. Any party may submit written comment by October 22, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2008-0691, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: (202) 566-1741.
     Mail: Air and Radiation Docket, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2008-0691, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please include a total 
of two copies.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, Public Reading Room, EPA 
West

[[Page 50501]]

Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20460. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal 
hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for 
deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2008-0691. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or email. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an email comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your email address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background and Discussion: Section 209(e)(1) 
of the Act addresses the permanent preemption of any State, or 
political subdivision thereof, from adopting or attempting to enforce 
any standard or other requirement relating to the control of emissions 
for certain new nonroad engines or vehicles. Section 209(e)(2) of the 
Act requires the Administrator to grant California authorization to 
enforce state standards for new nonroad engines or vehicles which are 
not listed under section 209(e)(1), subject to certain restrictions. On 
July 20, 1994, EPA promulgated a regulation that sets forth, among 
other things, the criteria, as found in section 209(e)(2), by which EPA 
must consider any California authorization requests for new nonroad 
engines or vehicle emission standards (section 209(e) rules).\1\
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    \1\ Section 209(e)(1) states, in part: No State or any political 
subdivision thereof shall adopt or attempt to enforce any standard 
or other requirement relating to the control of emissions from 
either of the following new nonroad engines or nonroad vehicles 
subject to regulation under this Act--
    (A) New engines which are used in construction equipment or 
vehicles or used in farm equipment or vehicles and which are smaller 
than 175 horsepower.
    (B) New locomotives or new engines used in locomotives.
    EPA's regulation was published at 59 FR 36969 (July 20, 1994), 
and regulations set forth therein, 40 CFR part 85, Subpart Q, 
Sec. Sec.  85.1601 et seq. A new rule, signed on September 4, 2008, 
moved these provisions to 40 CFR part 1074.
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    Section 209(e)(2) requires the Administrator, after notice and 
opportunity for public hearing, to authorize California to enforce 
standards and other requirements relating to emissions control of new 
engines not listed under section 209(e)(1). The section 209(e) rule and 
its codified regulations formally set forth the criteria, located in 
section 209(e)(2) of the Act, by which EPA must grant California 
authorization to enforce its new nonroad emission standards and they 
are as follows:

    (a) The Administrator shall grant the authorization if 
California determines that California standards will be, in the 
aggregate, at least as protective of public health and welfare as 
applicable Federal standards.
    (b) The authorization shall not be granted if the Administrator 
finds that:
    (1) The determination of California is arbitrary and capricious;
    (2) California does not need such California standards to meet 
compelling and extraordinary conditions; or
    (3) California standards and accompanying enforcement procedures 
are not consistent with section 209.\2\
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    \2\ See 40 CFR Part 85, Subpart Q, Sec.  85.1605. Upon 
effectiveness of the new rule, these criteria will be codified at 40 
CFR 1074.105.
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    As stated in the preamble to the section 209(e) rule, EPA has 
interpreted the requirement ``California standards and accompanying 
enforcement procedures are not consistent with section 209'' to mean 
that California standards and accompanying enforcement procedures must 
be consistent with section 209(a), section 209(e)(1), and section 
209(b)(1)(C), as EPA has interpreted that subsection in the context of 
motor vehicle waivers.\3\ In order to be consistent with section 
209(a), California's nonroad standards and enforcement procedures must 
not apply to new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines. Secondly, 
California's nonroad standards and enforcement procedures must be 
consistent with section 209(e)(1), which identifies the categories 
permanently preempted from state regulation.\4\ California's nonroad 
standards and enforcement procedures would be considered inconsistent 
with section 209 if they applied to the categories of engines or 
vehicles identified and preempted from State regulation in section 
209(e)(1).
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    \3\ See 59 FR 36969, 36983 (July 20, 1994).
    \4\ See 40 CFR 1074.10, 1074.12.
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    Finally, because California's nonroad standards and enforcement 
procedures must be consistent with section 209(b)(1)(C), EPA reviews 
nonroad authorization requests under the same ``consistency'' criteria 
that are applied to motor vehicle waiver requests. Under section 
209(b)(1)(C), the Administrator shall not grant California a motor 
vehicle waiver if he finds that California ``standards and accompanying 
enforcement procedures are not consistent with section 202(a)'' of the 
Act. Previous decisions granting waivers of Federal preemption for 
motor vehicles have stated that State standards are inconsistent with 
section 202(a) if there is inadequate lead time to permit the 
development of the necessary technology giving appropriate 
consideration to the cost of compliance within that time period or if 
the Federal and State test procedures impose inconsistent certification 
procedures.\5\
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    \5\ To be consistent, the California certification procedures 
need not be identical to the Federal certification procedures. 
California procedures would be inconsistent, however, if 
manufacturers would be unable to meet both the state and the Federal 
requirement with the same test vehicle in the course of the same 
test. See, e.g.,43 FR 32182 (July 25, 1978).
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    On August 8, 2008, CARB requested that EPA authorize California to 
enforce its In-Use Off-Road Diesel-Fueled Fleets regulation adopted at 
its July 26, 2007 public hearing (by Resolution 07-19) and subsequently 
modified after supplemental public comment by CARB's Executive Officer 
by the In-Use Regulation in Executive Order R-08-002 on April 4, 2008 
(these regulations are codified at Title 13, California Code of 
Regulations sections 2449 through 2449.3). CARB's regulations require 
fleets that operate nonroad, diesel-fueled equipment with engines 25 hp

[[Page 50502]]

and greater to meet fleet average emission standards for oxides of 
nitrogen and particulate matter. Alternatively, the regulations require 
the vehicles in those fleets to comply with best available control 
technology requirements. Based on this request EPA noticed and 
conducted a public hearing on October 27, 2008, and provided an 
opportunity to submit written comment through December 19, 2008.\6\
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    \6\ 73 FR 58585 (October 7, 2008) and 73 FR 67509 (November 14, 
2008).
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    On February 11, 2010 CARB requested that EPA grant California 
authorization to enforce its In-Use Off-Road Diesel-Fueled Fleets 
regulation as amended in: December 2008 (and formally adopted in 
California on October 19, 2009); January 2009 (and formally adopted in 
California on December 31, 2009); and, a certain subset of amendments 
adopted by the CARB Board in July 2009 in response to California 
Assembly Bill 8 2X (and formally adopted on December 3, 2009). In 
CARB's February 11, 2010 request letter to EPA it also notes additional 
amendments adopted in July 2009 and not yet formally adopted by 
California's Office of Administrative Law. Once this last subset of 
amendments was formally adopted CARB planned to submit them to EPA for 
subsequent consideration. Based on CARB's February 11, 2010 request, 
EPA noticed and conducted a public hearing on April 14, 2010, and 
provided an opportunity to submit written comment through May 18, 
2010.\7\
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    \7\ 75 FR 1180 (March 12, 2010).
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    On March 1, 2012 CARB requested that EPA grant California 
authorization to enforce its In-Use Off-Road Diesel-Fueled Fleets 
regulation as most recently amended in December 2010 (and formally 
adopted in California on December 14, 2011).\8\
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    \8\ See EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0691. CARB's December 2010 amendments 
include provisions that delay the original implementation dates of 
the regulation by requiring large fleets to comply with emission 
reduction requirements by January 1, 2014, medium fleets by January 
1, 2017, and small fleets by January 1, 2019.
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    Based on CARB's March 1, 2012 request and its In-Use Off-Road 
Diesel-Fueled Fleets regulation, EPA invites comment on whether (a) 
CARB's determination that its standards, in the aggregate, are at least 
as protective of public health and welfare as applicable federal 
standards is arbitrary and capricious, (b) California needs separate 
standards to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions, and (c) 
California's standards and accompanying enforcement procedures are 
consistent with section 209 of the Act.
    EPA is requiring that any entity that wishes EPA to consider either 
oral testimony or written comment provide such testimony or written 
comment in the context of today's Federal Register notice. Therefore, 
EPA will not be considering oral testimony or written comments based on 
the prior Federal Register notices, since CARB's December 2010 
amendments are likely to affect many of these prior comments. To the 
extent any entity believes that its prior comments remain pertinent 
then EPA is requiring such comments be resubmitted or incorporated into 
new comments.
    Procedures for Public Participation: In recognition that public 
hearings are designed to give interested parties an opportunity to 
participate in this proceeding, there are not adverse parties as such. 
Statements by participants will not be subject to cross-examination by 
other participants without special approval by the presiding officer. 
The presiding officer is authorized to strike from the record 
statements that he or she deems irrelevant or repetitious and to impose 
reasonable time limits on the duration of the statement of any 
participant.
    Persons with comments containing proprietary information must 
distinguish such information from other comments to the greatest 
possible extent and label it as Confidential Business Information 
(CBI). If a person making comments wants EPA to base its decision in 
part on a submission labeled CBI, then a non-confidential version of 
the document that summarizes the key data or information should be 
submitted for the public docket. To ensure that proprietary information 
is not inadvertently placed in the docket, submissions containing such 
information should be sent directly to the contact person listed above 
and not to the pubic docket. Information covered by a claim of 
confidentiality will be disclosed by EPA only to the extent allowed and 
by the procedures set forth in 40 CFR Part 2. If no claim of 
confidentiality accompanies the submission when EPA receives it, EPA 
will make it available to the public without further notice to the 
person making comments.

    Dated: August 9, 2012.
Margo Tsirigotis Oge,
Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Office of Air and 
Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2012-20495 Filed 8-20-12; 8:45 am]
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