[Federal Register: November 5, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 214)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 67345-67348]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05no02-16]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[Region II Docket No. NJ54-246, FRL-7404-1]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; New Jersey;
Motor Vehicle Enhanced Inspection and Maintenance Program
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revision submitted by New Jersey, including revisions to the State's
enhanced motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program. This
revision updates New Jersey's enhanced I/M performance standard
modeling to reflect the State's plan to extend the current new vehicle
inspection exemption from one inspection cycle ( 2 years) to two
inspection cycles (4 years). This evaluation is necessary for New
Jersey to demonstrate that the proposed changes to the enhanced I/M
program will not impact the State's ability to continue to meet its
enhanced I/M emission reduction goals for current and future years. EPA
is proposing approval of New Jersey's plan to extend the new car
emission inspection exemption, and the State's supporting revised
performance standard modeling, which demonstrates that the enhanced I/M
program continues to meet EPA's low enhanced performance standard.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 5, 2002. Public
comments on this action are requested and will be considered before
taking final action.
ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to Raymond Werner, Branch
Chief, Air Programs Branch, Environmental Protection Agency, 290
Broadway, 25th Floor, New York, New York 10007-1866.
Copies of the documents relevant to this action are available for
public inspection during normal business hours at the following
locations: Environmental Protection Agency,
[[Page 67346]]
Region 2 Office, Air Programs Branch, 290 Broadway, 25th Floor, New
York, New York 10007-1866, and New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection, Bureau of Air Quality Planning, 401 East State Street,
CN027, Trenton, New Jersey 08625.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth M. Champagne, Air Programs
Branch, Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway, 25th Floor, New
York, New York 10007-1866, (212) 637-4249.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
1. Background
2. What Is the Purpose and Content of New Jersey's Submittal?
3. Can EPA Approve Exemptions for New Vehicles?
4. What Is Performance Standard Modeling?
5. How Has New Jersey Modeled and Met the Performance Standard?
6. Summary of Conclusions and Proposed Action
7. Administrative Requirements
1. Background
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (the Clean Air Act) require
certain states to implement an enhanced I/M program to detect gasoline-
fueled motor vehicles which exhibit excessive emissions of certain air
pollutants. The enhanced I/M program is intended to help states meet
federal health-based national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for
ozone and carbon monoxide by requiring vehicles with excess emissions
to have their emissions control systems repaired. New Jersey is
required to have an enhanced I/M program pursuant to the Clean Air Act,
and consequently has adopted, and is implementing an enhanced I/M
program state-wide as of December 13, 1999. On January 22, 2002, EPA
fully approved New Jersey's enhanced I/M program, including the State's
performance standard modeling, as meeting the applicable requirements
of the Clean Air Act. Additional information on EPA's final approval of
New Jersey's enhanced I/M program can be found in the January 22, 2002
Federal Register (67 FR 2811).
2. What Is the Purpose and Content of New Jersey's Submittal?
New Jersey's August 20, 2002 proposed SIP revision submittal
(hereinafter referred to as the August 20, 2002 submittal) modifies the
State's enhanced I/M program to extend the current new vehicle emission
inspection exemption from one inspection cycle (2 years) to two
inspection cycles (4 years). This new vehicle emission inspection
exemption was enacted by New Jersey on July 1, 2002 as Pub. L. 2002,
Chapter 34, and supercedes the current emission inspection test
frequency set forth in New Jersey's I/M rules. The new legislation
requires any new vehicle of model year 2000 and newer to be exempt from
the emission inspection for 4 years, and thereafter inspected every 2
years, however implementation of this new legislation is contingent
upon approval by EPA. New Jersey's goal is to begin implementation of
the new vehicle emission inspection exemption on January 1, 2003.
Also included as a part of the August 20, 2002 submittal, New
Jersey revised its performance standard modeling to demonstrate that
the new vehicle emission inspection exemption would not impact the
State's ability to continue to meet its enhanced I/M emission reduction
goals. To ensure that the performance standard modeling reflects the
latest design assumptions for the State's I/M program, this revised
performance standard modeling also includes major proposed program
changes contained in New Jersey's April 24, 2002 proposed SIP revision
(hereinafter referred to as the April 24, 2002 submittal). The major
changes included are: (1) Removal of the requirements for
implementation of the evaporative pressure and purge tests, (2) removal
of the requirements for implementation of the existing final standards
for the ASM5015 exhaust test to allow for continued use of the initial
standards, (3) implementation of an OBD testing component for 1996 and
newer vehicles, and (4) an exemption of gasoline-fueled vehicles
registered as school buses from the enhanced I/M program (however,
these vehicles will be inspected by the State's school bus inspection
unit biannually using a 2500 RPM test). The State appropriately
included the proposed I/M program design changes from the April 24,
2002 submittal in the revised modeling since they will, if adopted,
impact the overall emission reduction potential of the I/M program.
However, EPA is not taking action on the proposed changes included in
the April 24, 2002 submittal in this proposed rulemaking. EPA will take
formal rulemaking action on the April 24, 2002 submittal in a separate
action at a later date.
New Jersey's revised performance standard modeling demonstrates
that the State's enhanced I/M program, including the proposed program
changes, successfully meets and exceeds EPA's low enhanced I/M program
performance standard developed for all three criteria pollutants:
(volatile organic compounds (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen
(NOX) as modeled for years 2002, 2005, and 2007, and carbon
monoxide (CO) as modeled for the year 2002.
3. Can EPA Approve Exemptions for New Vehicles?
The Clean Air Act outlines the minimum elements required in the
design of I/M programs, however model year coverage is not defined. EPA
fulfilled its statutory requirement in this regard by designing
performance standards that addressed these minimum elements. If a state
designs a program which gets the same or better emission reductions as
the performance standard it is considered to have met the I/M
requirements in the Clean Air Act. EPA's I/M regulations at 40 CFR
51.356(a)(5) state that ``special exemption may be permitted for
certain subject vehicles provided a demonstration is made that the
performance standard will be met.'' Accordingly, exemption of model
years from emission testing is permissible as long as the state can
demonstrate that the program meets the performance standard for I/M
programs as contained in 40 CFR 51.351 and 51.352. Generally, the
exemption of newer model year vehicles from emission testing results in
a relatively small loss in emission benefit since newer vehicles are
less likely to have excess emissions due to malfunctions which would be
discoverable through an I/M program.
4. What Is Performance Standard Modeling?
EPA included provisions for a model program, known as the
performance standard, in the requirements established for enhanced I/M
programs. The features of the enhanced I/M performance standard model
program are used to generate the minimum performance target that a
state must meet. When programmed into EPA's mobile source emission
factor model (the MOBILE model), these features produce target emission
factors, in grams per mile of vehicle travel, which a state's enhanced
I/M program must not exceed to be deemed minimally acceptable for
purposes of SIP approval. The performance standard provides a gauge by
which EPA can evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of each state's
enhanced I/M program. As such, states are required to demonstrate that
their enhanced I/M programs achieve applicable area-wide emission
levels for the pollutants of interest that are equal to, or lower than,
those which would be realized by the implementation of the performance
standard model program. However, the combination of program
[[Page 67347]]
features which make up the performance standard does not necessarily
constitute a recommended program design. The use of the performance
standard approach allows EPA to develop a performance standard based on
certain statutory features and that also provides states with maximum
flexibility to design I/M programs to meet local needs.
5. How Has New Jersey Modeled and Met the Performance Standard?
To comply with the requirements of the Clean Air Act, New Jersey
submitted modeling to EPA on August 20, 2001 which demonstrated that
the State's enhanced I/M program met EPA's low enhanced performance
standard. On January 22, 2002, EPA fully approved New Jersey's enhanced
I/M program, including the State's performance standard modeling, as
meeting the applicable requirements of the Clean Air Act. Additional
information on EPA's final approval of New Jersey's performance
standard modeling can be found in the January 22, 2002 Federal Register
(67 FR 2811).
Although New Jersey recently submitted performance standard
modeling for its enhanced I/M program, and EPA subsequently approved
it, the State is required to revise its performance standard modeling
to demonstrate that the proposed changes to the approved program, such
as the new vehicle emission inspection exemption, will not impact the
effectiveness of the overall program. As previously stated, New Jersey
also included in the modeling the proposed changes in the April 24,
2002 submittal to ensure that the modeling reflects the latest design
assumptions for the State's I/M program. In the August 20, 2002
submittal, New Jersey's intent was to show through modeling that its
enhanced I/M program, including the latest design changes, meets or
exceeds the low enhanced performance standard, expressed as emission
levels in program area-wide average grams per vehicle mile (gpm). New
Jersey is required to demonstrate that its enhanced I/M program is able
to maintain the same or better level of emission reductions as EPA's
low enhanced performance standard through its attainment deadlines for
the applicable NAAQS standards. For the ozone precursors, VOC and
NOX, the State needs to meet the performance standard
through its attainment deadlines of 2005 and 2007. Although New Jersey
is in attainment for all of its previously designated CO nonattainment
areas (60 FR 62741 and 67 FR 54574 ), the State is still required to
include CO in its performance standard modeling because the maintenance
plan for the Northeastern New Jersey CO nonattainment area relies upon
the benefits from the enhanced I/M program. Thus, the State needs to
meet the performance standard for CO in its 2002 attainment year.
EPA's enhanced I/M final rule requires that equivalency to the
performance standard be demonstrated using the most current version of
EPA's mobile source emission model. New Jersey has completed its
performance standard modeling using the most current model MOBILE6,
which was released on January 29, 2002 ( 67 FR 4254). During technical
review of the August 20, 2002 submittal, EPA identified several minor
issues with the State's modeling. EPA worked closely with New Jersey on
these issues, and concluded that the minor changes to the modeling will
not negatively impact the State's modeling demonstration. New Jersey
subsequently sent a letter to EPA September 20, 2002 addressing the
issues in question. However, EPA identified an additional issue with
the modeling after this letter had been sent. EPA re-ran the State's
modeling with the modified MOBILE6 data inputs, and the results show
that this minor change will not affect New Jersey's performance
modeling demonstration. While these changes will not impact the outcome
of the modeling exercise, that is the State still passes the
performance standard test, EPA has requested that all minor issues be
addressed in the State's final SIP revision submittal.
The following table shows the results of New Jersey's revised
performance standard modeling, including the re-modeled results
contained in New Jersey's September 20, 2002 letter and EPA's re-run of
the State's modeling with the modified MOBILE6 data inputs. Further
details on New Jersey's revised performance standard modeling can be
found in the Technical Support Document prepared for this rulemaking
action.
Table 1.--Modeling Results
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Program type VOC (gpm) NOX (gpm) CO (gpm)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EPA Low Enhanced Performance 1.178 1.810 22.572
Standard 2002 Evaluation Year
New Jersey Program 2002 1.152 1.745 22.398
Evaluation Year..............
New Jersey Program 2005 0.964 1.416 N/A*
Evaluation Year..............
New Jersey Program 2007 0.817 1.114 N/A*
Evaluation Year..............
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 2005 and 2007 modeling runs were not required to include CO since
the attainment date (2002) has passed.
Based on New Jersey's modeling analysis, EPA agrees that the
State's enhanced I/M program, including the proposed program changes,
successfully meets and exceeds EPA's low enhanced I/M program
performance standard for all three criteria pollutants, VOC and
NOX as modeled for years 2002, 2005, and 2007, and CO as
modeled for the year 2002.
6. Summary of Conclusions and Proposed Action
This revision is being proposed under a procedure called parallel
processing, whereby EPA proposes rulemaking action concurrently with
the state's procedures for amending its regulations. If the proposed
revision is substantially changed in areas other than those identified
in this document, EPA will evaluate those changes and may publish
another notice of proposed rulemaking. If no substantial changes are
made other than those areas cited in this document, EPA will publish a
final rulemaking on the revisions. The final rulemaking action by EPA
will occur only after the SIP revision has been adopted by New Jersey
and submitted formally to EPA for incorporation into the SIP.
EPA is proposing to approve New Jersey's I/M SIP revision submitted
on August 20, 2002. This revision updates New Jersey's enhanced I/M
performance standard modeling to reflect the State's plan to extend the
current new vehicle inspection exemption from one inspection cycle ( 2
years) to two inspection cycles (4 years). New Jersey has demonstrated
that its enhanced I/M program with the new vehicle emission inspection
exemption, including other proposed program design changes, continues
to meet EPA's low enhanced performance standard.
[[Page 67348]]
7. Administrative Requirements
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
proposed action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and
therefore is not subject to review by the Office of Management and
Budget. This proposed action merely proposes to approve state law as
meeting federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements
beyond those imposed by state law. Accordingly, the Administrator
certifies that this proposed rule will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this rule proposes to
approve pre-existing requirements under state law and does not impose
any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by state law, it
does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely
affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4). This proposed rule also does not have a
substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the
relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on
the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it have substantial direct
effects on the States, on the relationship between the national
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified
in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it
merely proposes to approve a state rule implementing a federal
standard, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of
power and responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This
proposed rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically significant.
In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In
this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the
State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority
to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP
submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements
of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. As required by section 3
of Executive Order 12988 (61 FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing
this proposed rule, EPA has taken the necessary steps to eliminate
drafting errors and ambiguity, minimize potential litigation, and
provide a clear legal standard for affected conduct. EPA has complied
with Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988) by examining
the takings implications of the rule in accordance with the ``Attorney
General's Supplemental Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk and
Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings'' issued under the executive order.
This proposed rule does not impose an information collection burden
under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: October 28, 2002.
William J. Muszynski,
Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 2.
[FR Doc. 02-28076 Filed 11-4-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P