[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33143-33145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10923]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-10890-01-OAR]


California State Nonroad Engine Pollution Control Standards; 
Small Off-Road Engines; Request for Authorization; Opportunity for 
Public Hearing and Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has notified EPA 
that it has adopted two sets of amendments to its Small Off-Road Engine 
regulation (SORE Amendments). By letter dated December 20, 2022, CARB 
asked that EPA authorize these amendments pursuant to section 209(e) of 
the Clean Air Act (CAA). This notice announces that EPA will hold a 
public hearing to consider California's authorization request and that 
EPA is now accepting written comment on the requests.

DATES: Comments: Written comments must be received on or before July 
28, 2023.
    Public Hearing: EPA will hold a public hearing on June 27, 2023. 
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for further information on the virtual 
public hearing.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0151 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov 
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center, OAR, Docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0151, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only): 
EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center's hours of 
operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except federal 
holidays). Instructions: All submissions received must include the 
Docket ID No. for this action. Comments received may be posted without 
change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and 
additional information on the process for this action, see the ``Public 
Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 
this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Dickinson, Office of 
Transportation and Air Quality, Transportation and Climate Division, 
Environmental Protection Agency; Telephone number: (202) 343-9256; 
Email address: [email protected]; or Kayla Steinberg, Office of 
Transportation and Air Quality, Transportation and Climate Division 
(TCD), Environmental Protection Agency; Telephone number (202) 564-
7658; Email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Public Participation Virtual Public Hearing: The EPA will hold a 
virtual hearing on June 27, 2023. Those wishing to testify or to 
monitor the virtual hearing should register at: https://usepa.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_LsXS6oB1SZKar1OFfYlR7Q. Those 
presenting oral testimony will be limited to a 3-minute time slot. The 
Agency will not be issuing any subsequent Federal Register notices and 
will instead provide any additional details for the hearing at https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/virtual-public-hearing-small-road-engine-sore. The link to join the virtual public 
hearing is at https://usepa.zoomgov.com/j/1606756297. EPA recommends 
submitting the text of your oral testimony as written comments to the 
docket. Written statements and supporting information submitted during 
the comment period will be considered with the same weight as oral 
testimony and supporting information presented at the public hearing.
    A. Public Participation Written Comments: Submit your comments, 
identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0151 at https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or the other methods 
identified in the ADDRESSES section of this document. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or withdrawn from the docket. The EPA may 
publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit 
electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business 
Information (CBI), Proprietary Business Information (PBI), or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia 
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written 
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and 
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of 
the primary submission (including such content located on the web, 
cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission 
methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI, 
PBI, or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making 
effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epadockets. Documents to which the EPA refers in this action 
are available online at https://www.regulations.gov/ in the docket for 
this action (Docket EPA-HQ- OAR-2023-0151).
    EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality also maintains a web 
page that contains general information on its review of California 
waiver and authorization requests. Included on that page are links to 
prior waiver and authorization Federal Register notices. This page will 
also include updates regarding this authorization proceeding. The page 
can be accessed at https://www.epa.gov/state-and-local-transportation/vehicle-emissions-california-waivers-and-authorizations.

I. California's Small Off-Road Engine Regulation, Prior Authorization, 
and New Request

    CARB first adopted emission standards and associated test 
procedures for small off-road engines (SORE) in 1990.\1\ CARB 
subsequently amended the SORE regulations a number of times and EPA 
granted authorizations for CARB to enforce the SORE regulations and 
subsequent amendments.\2\
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    \1\ SOREs are defined by CARB as off-road spark-ignition engines 
rated at or below 19 kilowatts (25.5 horsepower) that are not used 
to propel a licensed on-road motor vehicle, an off-road motorcycle, 
an all-terrain vehicle, a marine vessel, a snowmobile, a model 
airplane, a model car, or a model boat. SOREs are predominantly used 
in lawn and garden equipment such as lawn mowers, string trimmers, 
and leaf blowers, as well as in other small off-road equipment such 
as portable generators, pressure washers, and air compressors. The 
vast majority of SOREs are fueled by gasoline, but some are powered 
by compressed natural gas (CNG), propane, liquefied petroleum gas 
(LPG), or liquefied natural gas (LNG). Small off-road equipment 
powered by SORE are known as SORE equipment. See CARB Authorization 
Request, EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0151 at 3.
    \2\ 60 FR 37440 (July 20, 1995); 65 FR 69763 (November 20, 
2000); 68 FR 65702 (November 21, 2003); 71 FR 75536 (December 15, 
2006); 75 FR 8056 (February 23, 2010); 80 FR 26041 (May 6, 2015); 80 
FR 76971 (December 11, 2015).
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    On December 20, 2022, CARB submitted a new authorization request to 
EPA for its amendments to the SORE regulation adopted in 2016 (2016 
SORE Amendments) and in 2021 (2021 SORE Amendments).
    CARB notes that its 2016 SORE Amendments include improvements to 
evaporative emissions certification

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procedures, revise the compliance testing procedure, update the 
evaporative emissions certification test fuel to represent commercially 
available gasoline, and align aspects of the SORE requirements with the 
corresponding federal requirements, while retaining elements of the 
evaporative emission standards previously adopted by CARB, which are 
more stringent than federal requirements. CARB also notes the 2016 
Amendments are designed to increase SORE equipment compliance with the 
diurnal emission standards, will require evaporative emissions 
certification test fuel to be formulated to reflect motor vehicle fuel 
currently dispensed at California gasoline stations, will enable SORE 
manufacturers to obtain both CARB and EPA certification for fuel tanks 
based on a common set of test results, and will enable CARB to more 
readily identify and remedy violations of the evaporative emissions 
standards. The 2016 Amendments do not increase the stringency of the 
preexisting SORE evaporative emission standards, but will ensure that 
manufacturers will more fully comply with those standards.\3\
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    \3\ CARB Authorization Request at 7-14.
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    CARB notes that its 2021 SORE Amendments primarily establish 
exhaust and evaporative emission standards and associated test 
procedures for 2024 and subsequent model engines and equipment that are 
significantly more stringent than preexisting exhaust and evaporative 
emission standards and associated test procedures. The 2021 Amendments 
establish SORE emission standards in two phases. First, the exhaust 
emission standards for most 2024 and subsequent model year (MY) SOREs 
is zero (0.00 grams per kilowatt-hour) for hydrocarbons and oxides of 
nitrogen. Under the 2021 SORE Amendments, carbon monoxide (CO) emission 
standards for MY 2024 and later engines are more stringent than the 
existing emission standards for some displacement categories, but they 
are not zero. The evaporative emission standards for most 2024 and 
subsequent MY SOREs is zero (0.00 grams per test). The evaporative 
emission standards include ``hot soak'' emissions (representing 
emissions that occur when placing a hot engine in storage after use on 
a hot summer day) to better evaluate emissions from real world use of 
SORE equipment. The above-mentioned emission standards apply for all 
categories of SORE except pressure washer engines with displacements 
greater than or equal to 225 cubic centimeters (cc) and portable 
generator engines. The emission standards for the latter category of 
engines are more stringent than the preexisting emission standards 
starting in MY 2024 but are not zero.
    The second phase of the emissions standards will be implemented 
beginning in the 2028 MY, when the exhaust and evaporative emission 
standards for engines used in pressure washer with displacements 
greater than or equal to 225 cc and portable generators will be aligned 
with the zero-emission standards for other categories of SOREs.\4\
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    \4\ CARB Authorization Request at 14-20.
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II. Clean Air Act Nonroad Engine and Vehicle Authorization Criteria

    Section 209(e)(1) of the CAA prohibits states and local governments 
from adopting or attempting to enforce any standard or other 
requirement relating to the control of emissions from new nonroad 
vehicles or engines. The Act also preempts states from adopting and 
enforcing standards and other requirements related to the control of 
emissions from non-new nonroad engines or vehicles. Section 209(e)(2), 
however, requires the Administrator, after notice and opportunity for 
public hearing, to authorize California to adopt and enforce standards 
and other requirements relating to the control of emissions from such 
vehicles or engines if California determines that California standards 
will be, in the aggregate, at least as protective of public health and 
welfare as applicable Federal standards. However, EPA shall not grant 
such authorization if it 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 [CAA section 209].\5\ On July 20, 1994, EPA 
promulgated a rule that sets forth, among other things, regulations 
providing the criteria, as found in section 209(e)(2)(A) of the CAA, 
that EPA must consider before granting any California authorization 
request for new nonroad engine or vehicle emission standards.\6\ EPA 
revised these regulations in 1997.\7\ As stated in the preamble to the 
1994 rule, EPA has historically interpreted the section 209(e)(2)(iii) 
``consistency'' inquiry to require, at minimum, that California 
standards and enforcement procedures 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 section 209(b) motor vehicle 
waivers).\8\
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    \5\ 42 U.S.C. 7543(e)(2)(A).
    \6\ 59 FR 36969 (July 20, 1994).
    \7\ 62 FR 67733 (December 30, 1997). The applicable regulations 
are now in 40 CFR part 1074, subpart B, section 1074.105.
    \8\ 59 FR 36969 (July 20, 1994).
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    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. To be consistent with section 
209(e)(1), California's nonroad standards and enforcement procedures 
must not attempt to regulate engine categories that are permanently 
preempted from state regulation. To determine consistency with section 
209(b)(1)(C), EPA typically reviews nonroad authorization requests 
under the same ``consistency'' criteria that are applied to motor 
vehicle waiver requests. Pursuant to 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 and authorizations have noted that 
state standards and enforcement procedures are inconsistent with 
section 202(a) if: (1) there is inadequate lead time to permit the 
development of the necessary technology giving appropriate 
consideration to the cost of compliance within that time, or (2) the 
federal and state testing procedures impose inconsistent certification 
requirements.\9\
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    \9\ 78 FR 58090, 58092 (September 20, 2013).
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    In addition, in considering requests from California to authorize 
the enforcement of standards or other requirements relating to the 
control of emissions from new nonroad spark-ignition engines smaller 
than 50 horsepower, the Administrator is required to give appropriate 
consideration to safety factors (including the increased risk of burn 
or fire) associated with compliance with the California standard.\10\
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    \10\ 40 CFR 1074.105(c).
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III. EPA's Request for Comments

    We request comment on whether California's 2016 SORE Amendments and 
the 2021 SORE Amendments meet the criteria for a full authorization. 
Specifically, we request comment on: (a) whether 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) whether California needs such standards to meet 
compelling and extraordinary conditions, and (c) whether California's 
standards and accompanying

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enforcement procedures are consistent with section 209 of the Act. We 
also request comment on any safety factors EPA should consider 
regarding the 2016 and 2021 SORE Amendments.

Sarah Dunham,
Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Office of Air and 
Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2023-10923 Filed 5-22-23; 8:45 am]
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