[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 153 (Tuesday, August 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52680-52682]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18868]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[AMS-FRL-9950-44-OAR]


California State Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Standards; 
Greenhouse Gas Emissions From 2014 and Subsequent Model Year Medium- 
and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles; Request for Waiver of Preemption; 
Opportunity for Public Hearing and Public 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 a greenhouse gas emission regulation for new 2014 
and subsequent model year on-road medium-and heavy-duty engines and 
vehicles (California Phase 1 GHG Regulation). This regulation aligns 
California's GHG emission standards and test procedures with the 
federal GHG emission standards and test procedures that EPA adopted in 
2011. By letter dated January 29, 2016, CARB submitted a request that

[[Page 52681]]

EPA grant a waiver of preemption under section 209(b) of the Clean Air 
Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. 7543(b) for the California Phase 1 GHG Regulation. 
This notice announces that EPA has scheduled a public hearing 
concerning California's request and that EPA is accepting written 
comment on the request.

DATES: EPA has tentatively scheduled a public hearing concerning CARB's 
request on September 28, 2016, at 10 a.m. EPA will hold a hearing only 
if any party notifies EPA by September 21, 2016 to express interest in 
presenting the Agency with oral testimony. Parties wishing to present 
oral testimony at the public hearing should provide written notice to 
David Dickinson at the email address noted below. If EPA receives a 
request for a public hearing, that hearing will be held at the William 
Jefferson Clinton Building (North), Room 5528 at 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, 
NW., Washington, DC 20460. If EPA does not receive a request for a 
public hearing, then EPA will not hold a hearing, and instead will 
consider CARB's request based on written submissions to the docket. Any 
party may submit written comments until November 1, 2016.
    Any person who wishes to know whether a hearing will be held may 
call David Dickinson at (202) 343-9256 on or after September 21, 2016.

ADDRESSES: EPA will make available for in person inspection, at the Air 
and Radiation Docket and Information Center, written comments received 
from interested parties, in addition to any testimony given at the 
public hearing. The official public docket is the collection of 
materials that is available for public viewing at the Air and Radiation 
Docket in the EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room B102, 1301 
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. 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 EPA-HQ-OAR-2016-0179.
    EPA will make available an electronic copy of this Notice on the 
Office of Transportation and Air Quality's (OTAQ's) homepage (http://www.epa.gov/otaq/). Users can find this document by accessing the OTAQ 
homepage and looking at the path entitled ``Regulations.'' This service 
is free of charge, except any cost you already incur for Internet 
connectivity. Users can also get the official Federal Register version 
of the Notice on the day of publication on the primary Web site: 
(http://www.epa.gov/docs/fedrgstr/EP-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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Dickinson (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].

For Obtaining and Submitting Electronic Copies of Comments

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2016-
0179, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: (202) 343-2804.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA West (Air 
Docket), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Room B108, Mail Code 6102T, 
Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0491. 
Please include a total of two copies.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 
B102, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. 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-2016-
0179.
    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. Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

(A) CARB's Waiver Request for the California Phase 1 GHG Regulation

    CARB's January 29, 2016, letter to the Administrator presents EPA 
with CARB's requirements related to the control of greenhouse gas 
emissions from 2014 and subsequent MY California on-road medium- and 
heavy-duty engines and vehicles. The regulation establishes 
requirements applicable to new motor vehicles with a gross vehicle 
weight rating (GVWR) exceeding 8,500 pounds and engines that power such 
motor vehicles, except for medium-duty passenger vehicles (MDPVs) that 
are subject to California's Low Emission Vehicle Program.\1\ 
California's Phase 1 regulation is supplemental to CARB's existing 
Tractor-Trailer GHG regulation that was initially adopted by the CARB 
Board in 2008 and subsequently amended in 2010 and 2012.\2\ CARB's 
Tractor-Trailer

[[Page 52682]]

GHG regulation includes the regulation of certain trailers associated 
with heavy-duty vehicles and engines. CARB amended the Tractor-Trailer 
GHG regulation in conjunction with its adoption of the Phase 1 GHG 
regulation (which only addresses vehicles and engines) to ensure that 
California's GHG requirements for new medium and heavy-duty engines and 
vehicles are consistent with the corresponding requirements of EPA's 
Phase 1 GHG regulation (that addresses engines and vehicles).
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    \1\ The California Phase 1 GHG regulation is comprised of new 
title 17, California Code of Regulations (CCR) sections 95660 
through 95664, and amendments to title 13, CCR, sections 1900, 
1958.6, 2036, 2037, 2112, 2140, and 2147. These regulations apply to 
all motor vehicles with a GVWR greater than 8,500 pounds. An 
exception to these regulations are MDPVs which are primarily 
designed for the transport of passengers. (MDPVs are not subject to 
this waiver). A definition of MDPVs can be found at title 13, CCR, 
section 1900(b)(15). California uses the same definition of light-
duty vehicles (which includes a subcategory for MDPVs) as EPA.
    \2\ EPA granted California a waiver for the Tractor-Trailer GHG 
regulation in 2014. 79 FR 46256 (August 7, 2014). A petition was 
subsequently filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia Circuit that requested the court to review 
EPA's issuance of the waiver. The court dismissed the petition on 
November 25, 2015.
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(B) Scope of Preemption and Criteria for a Waiver Under the Clean Air 
Act

    Section 209(a) of the Clean Air Act, as amended (``Act''), 42 
U.S.C. 7543(a), provides:

    No state or any political subdivision thereof shall adopt or 
attempt to enforce any standard relating to the control of emissions 
from new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines subject to this 
part. No state shall require certification, inspection or any other 
approval relating to the control of emissions from any new motor 
vehicle or new motor vehicle engine as condition precedent to the 
initial retail sale, titling (if any), or registration of such motor 
vehicle, motor vehicle engine, or equipment.

    Section 209(b) of the Act requires the Administrator, after notice 
and opportunity for public hearing, to waive application of the 
prohibitions of section 209(a) for any state that has adopted standards 
(other than crankcase emission standards) for the control of emissions 
from new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines prior to March 30, 
1966, if the state determines that the state standards will be, in the 
aggregate, at least as protective of public health and welfare as 
applicable federal standards. California is the only state that is 
qualified to seek and receive a waiver under section 209(b). EPA must 
grant a waiver unless the Administrator finds that (A) the 
determination of the state is arbitrary and capricious, (B) the state 
does not need the state standards to meet compelling and extraordinary 
conditions, or (C) the state 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 maintained 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.\3\
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    \3\ 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 the state and the federal 
requirements 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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(C) Request for Comment

    EPA invites comment on CARB's request for a waiver for the 
California Phase 1 GHG regulation under the following three criteria: 
whether (a) California's determination that its motor vehicle emission 
standards are, in the aggregate, at least as protective of public 
health and welfare as applicable federal standards is arbitrary and 
capricious, (b) California needs such standards to meet compelling and 
extraordinary conditions, and (c) California's standards and 
accompanying enforcement procedures are consistent with section 202(a) 
of the Clean Air Act.

Procedures for Public Participation

    The Agency will make a verbatim record of the proceedings. 
Interested parties may arrange with the reporter at the hearing to 
obtain a copy of the transcript at their own expense. EPA will keep the 
record open until November 1, 2016. Upon expiration of the comment 
period, the Administrator will render a decision on CARB's request 
based on the record of the public hearing, relevant written 
submissions, and other information that she deems pertinent.
    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 public 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 3, 2016.
Christopher Grundler,
Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Office of Air and 
Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2016-18868 Filed 8-8-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P