[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]
[[Page 33143]]
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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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