[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 14, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51092-51094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19799]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Parts 531, 533, 536, and 537

[NHTSA-2021-0053, NHTSA-2021-0054]
RIN 2127-AM34


Public Hearing for Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards for 
Model Years 2024-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

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

ACTION: Notification of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is

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announcing a virtual public hearing to be held October 13, 2021, on its 
proposal for the ``Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards for Model 
Years 2024-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks,'' which was signed on 
August 5, 2021, and published in the Federal Register on September 3, 
2021. This hearing also allows the public to provide oral comments 
regarding the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement that 
accompanies the proposal. An additional session will be held on October 
14, if necessary, to accommodate the number of people who sign up to 
provide oral comments. NHTSA is proposing to revise the corporate 
average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars and light 
trucks for model years 2024 through 2026 to make the standards more 
stringent.

DATES: NHTSA will hold a virtual public hearing on October 13, 2021. An 
additional session will be held on October 14, if necessary, to 
accommodate the number of people who sign up to testify. Please refer 
to the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for additional information on 
the public hearing.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held virtually on October 13, 
2021. An additional session will be held on October 14, if necessary, 
to accommodate the number of people who sign up to testify. The hearing 
will convene at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time and will conclude when the last 
pre-registered speaker has testified but no later than 8:00 p.m. 
Eastern time. All hearing attendees, including those who do not intend 
to provide testimony, should preregister by October 7, 2021. The link 
to register will be available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/cafe. Additional 
information regarding the hearing appears below under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  To register to attend the hearing, 
please contact NHTSA's Office of Communications at 
[email protected]. To speak to someone about the proposal, 
please contact Vinay Nagabhushana, Fuel Economy Division, Office of 
Rulemaking, NHTSA, at (202) 366-1452.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA is proposing to revise the corporate 
average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars and light 
trucks built in model years 2024 through 2026 to make the standards 
more stringent. On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued Executive 
Order 13990, ``Protecting Public Health and the Environment and 
Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,'' directing NHTSA to 
consider whether to propose suspending, revising, or rescinding the 
standards previously set forth under the ``The Safer Affordable Fuel-
Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars 
and Light Trucks,'' promulgated in April 2020 (hereafter, ``the 2020 
final rule''). The 2020 final rule set standards that increased at a 
rate of 1.5 percent per year for this time period. Based on our updated 
assessment, NHTSA is proposing, under the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act, as amended by the Energy Independence and Security 
Act, to revise the CAFE standards to be more stringent than the 2020 
final rule standards in each model year for 2024 through 2026. In 
addition, NHTSA is also proposing certain technical amendments to 
clarify and streamline our compliance regulations. The proposed revised 
standards would conserve much more energy, save much more fuel, and 
thus save consumers money and improve our nation's energy security over 
time. The ``Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards for Model Years 
2024-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks'' proposal was signed on 
August 5, 2021, and was published in the Federal Register on September 
3, 2021 (86 FR 49602). The proposal and accompanying documents are 
available in Docket ID No. NHTSA-2021-0053. A notice of availability 
for the accompanying Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 
(Draft SEIS) was published in the Federal Register on August 20, 2021 
(86 FR 46847). The Draft SEIS is available on NHTSA's CAFE website, 
https://www.nhtsa.gov/cafe, and is also available in Docket ID No. 
NHTSA-2021-0054. The public comment period for the proposed rule is 
scheduled to conclude on October 26, 2021.

Participation in Virtual Public Hearing

    Please note that NHTSA is deviating from its typical approach for 
public hearings. Because of current CDC recommendations, as well as 
state and local orders for social distancing to limit the spread of 
COVID-19, NHTSA is not holding in-person public meetings at this time.
    NHTSA will begin pre-registering speakers for the hearing upon 
publication of this document in the Federal Register. To register to 
speak at the virtual hearing, please follow the instructions below. The 
last day to pre-register to speak at the hearing will be October 7, 
2021.
     To watch the hearing (without providing oral comments): 
Click the link at https://www.nhtsa.gov/cafe and register. Indicate NO 
on the registration page that you do not wish to provide testimony. 
Within 24 hours of registering, you will be emailed your link to join.
     To comment at the hearing: Click the link at https://www.nhtsa.gov/cafe and register by October 7. Indicate YES on the 
registration page that you would like to provide comments. Within 24 
hours of registering, you will be emailed your link to join. 
Additionally, you will receive an email on October 11 with your 
approximate time to testify, and additional information about how to 
turn on your audio and camera to comment. We recommend you join via a 
computer, but if you are unable to do so, an option to join via phone 
will also be provided in that email.
    If you do not receive your confirmation email(s), or have further 
questions about this hearing, please email [email protected]. 
NHTSA is committed to providing equal access to this event for all 
participants. Closed captioning will be available. People with 
disabilities who need additional accommodations should send a request 
to [email protected] no later than October 7.
    Each commenter will have 3 minutes to provide oral testimony. NHTSA 
may ask clarifying questions during the oral presentations but will not 
respond to the presentations at that time. NHTSA recommends submitting 
the text of your oral comments as written comments to the rulemaking 
docket or to the Draft SEIS docket, as appropriate. Written statements 
and supporting information submitted during the comment period will be 
considered with the same weight as oral comments and supporting 
information presented at the public hearing. If identical comments are 
submitted by the same commenter more than once to the docket, NHTSA 
does not consider those comments to carry more weight than if they had 
been submitted only once. If the oral testimony is specifically 
intended to reference the Draft SEIS, please mention that in your 
opening remarks.
    Please note that any updates made to any aspects of the hearing 
logistics, including any change to the date of the hearing or a 
potential additional session on October 14, 2021, will be posted on 
NHTSA's website, https://www.nhtsa.gov/cafe. While NHTSA expects the 
hearing to go forward as set forth above, please monitor our website or 
contact us via the email address listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section to determine if there are any updates. NHTSA does not 
intend to publish a document in the

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Federal Register announcing updates. Finally, NHTSA will post a video 
of the hearing at http://www.nhtsa.gov/cafe and will make a transcript 
of the hearing available in the rulemaking docket as soon as 
practicable.

How can I get copies of the proposed action, the Draft Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement, and other related information?

    NHTSA has established a docket for the proposal under Docket ID No. 
NHTSA-2021-0053 and a separate docket for the Draft SEIS at Docket ID 
No. NHTSA-2021-0054. Relevant documents and information can also be 
accessed at NHTSA's CAFE website, at https://www.nhtsa.gov/cafe. Please 
refer to the notice of proposed rulemaking for detailed information on 
accessing information related to the proposal and the Draft SEIS.

    Issued on September 9, 2021, in Washington, DC, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR 1.95.
Raymond R. Posten,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2021-19799 Filed 9-10-21; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P