[Federal Register: May 21, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 99)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 29234-29236]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21my04-18]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[Region II Docket No. NJ68-275, FRL-7661-1]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; New Jersey;
Motor Vehicle Enhanced Inspection and Maintenance Program
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a request from New Jersey to revise its State
Implementation Plan (SIP) to incorporate revisions to the enhanced
inspection and maintenance (I/M) program. New Jersey has made several
amendments to its I/M rules to comply with EPA regulations and to
improve performance of the program and has requested that the SIP be
revised to include these changes. Chief among the amendments EPA is
approving is New Jersey's On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) program. EPA is
approving New Jersey's latest I/M rule changes. The intended effect of
this action is to maintain consistency between the State-adopted rules
and the federally approved SIP.
DATES: Effective Date: This rule will be effective June 21, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the state submittal are available at the following
addresses for inspection during normal business hours:
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2 Office, Air Programs Branch,
290 Broadway, 25th Floor, New York, New York 10007-1866.
Environmental Protection Agency, Air and Radiation Docket and
Information Center, Air Docket (6102), 401 M Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20460.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air
Quality Planning, 401 East State Street, CN027, Trenton, New Jersey
08625.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Reema Persaud, Air Programs Branch,
290 Broadway, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10007-1866, (212) 637-4249,
persaud.reema@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On December 15, 2003 (68 FR 69637), EPA published a notice of
proposed rulemaking regarding a State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revision submitted by the State of New Jersey. The notice proposed to
approve a revision to the SIP for New Jersey's enhanced inspection and
maintenance (I/M) program. New Jersey made several amendments to its I/
M rules to comply with EPA regulations and to improve performance of
the program and requested that the SIP be revised to include these
changes. Chief among the amendments EPA proposed to approve is New
Jersey's On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) program. A detailed description of
New Jersey's submittals and EPA's rationale for the proposed action
were presented in the December 15, 2003 proposal, referenced above, and
will not be restated here.
II. Public Comments on the Proposed Action
No comments were received for the proposed rulemaking published in
the December 15, 2003 Federal Register.
III. Final Action
EPA is taking final action to approve New Jersey's OBD I/M program
and additional changes to the I/M SIP discussed in the Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking titled ``Approval and Promulgation of
Implementation Plans; New Jersey; Motor Vehicle Enhanced Inspection and
Maintenance Program.'' EPA is approving the request for the exemption
of OBD-eligible gasoline-fueled and bi-fueled school buses from
enhanced I/M inspection, and for leasing companies and out-of-state
dealerships to be allowed to issue temporary inspection decals. The SIP
revision also incorporated several features of the current New Jersey
Enhanced Inspection and Maintenance program, such as, the increase of
the minimum cost expenditure value for the issuance of a waiver from
$200 to $450; the exemption from dynamometer testing any motor vehicle
``with a chassis height that has been modified so as to make its
operation on a dynamometer either impractical or hazardous''; and the
removal of all references to the evaporative pressure and purge test,
while retaining the evaporative fuel cap leak test; and additional
amendments to clarify definitions and other aspects of the program. The
State demonstrated there is no adverse impact to air quality with the
exemption of new cars from inspection for four years, as opposed to two
years, and the change in the minimum cost expenditure value for the
issuance of a waiver, from $200 to $450. Please refer to the proposed
rulemaking 68 FR 69637 for further details on all approved measures.
EPA's authority to approve New Jersey's enhanced I/M program is set
forth at sections 110 and 182 of the Clean Air Act.
[[Page 29235]]
IV. Administrative Requirements
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211,
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action
merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law.
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this 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 approves 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 rule also does not have tribal implications because it will
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). This action also does not have Federalism
implications because it does not 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). This action merely approves 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 rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045
``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety
Risks'' (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. This 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.).
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by July 20, 2004. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial
review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial
review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such
rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings
to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile
organic compounds.
Dated: April 29, 2004.
Jane M. Kenny,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
0
Part 52, chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is
amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart FF--New Jersey
0
2. Section 52.1570 is amended by adding new paragraph (c)(76) to read
as follows:
Sec. 52.1570 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
* * * * *
(76) Revisions to the New Jersey State Implementation Plan (SIP)
concerning the Enhanced Inspection and Maintenance Program, submitted
on August 13, 2003 by the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (NJDEP).
(i) Incorporation by reference:
(A) Title 13, Chapter 20 of the NJAC: Subchapter 7, ``Vehicle
Inspections'' (Section: 7.1); Subchapter 26, ``Compliance With Diesel
Emission Standards and Equipment, Periodic Inspection Program for
Diesel Emissions, and Self-Inspection of Certain Classes of Motor
Vehicles'' (Sections: 26.2, 26.16); Subchapter 28, ``Inspection of New
Motor Vehicles'' (Section 28.3); Subchapter 29, ``Mobile Inspection
Unit'' (Section: 29.2); Subchapter 32, ``Inspection Standards and Test
Procedures To Be Used By Official Inspection Facilities''; Subchapter
33, ``Inspection Standards and Test Procedures To Be Used By Licensed
Private Inspection Facilities''; Subchapter 43, ``Enhanced Motor
Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program''; Subchapter 44, ``Private
Inspection Facility Licensing''; and Subchapter 45, ``Motor Vehicle
Emission Repair Facility Registration,'' effective May 19, 2003.
(ii) Additional material:
(A) Letter from State of New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection dated August 13, 2003, requesting EPA approval of a revision
to the Enhanced Inspection and Maintenance Program SIP which contains
amendments to the Subchapter 16 ``Control and Prohibition of Air
Pollution from Volatile Organic Compounds.''
0
3. Section 52.1605 is amended by revising the entries under Title 13,
Chapter 20 for Subchapters 7, 26, 28, 29, 32, 33, 43, 44, and 45 in the
table in numerical order to read as follows:
Sec. 52.1605 EPA-approved New Jersey regulations.
[[Page 29236]]
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State regulation State effective date EPA approved date Comments
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* * * * * * *
Title 13, Chapter 20 Subchapter May 19, 2003................. May 21, 2004
7, ``Vehicle Inspection.''. [Insert FR page citation].
Sections: 7.1, 7.2, 7.3,
7.4, 7.5, 7.6.
* * * * * * *
Subchapter 26, ``Compliance With May 19, 2003................. May 21, 2004
Diesel Emission Standards and [Insert FR page citation].
Equipment, Periodic Inspection
Program for Diesel Emissions,
and Self-Inspection of Certain
Classes of Motor Vehicles.''.
Section: 26.2, 26.16........
Subchapter 28, ``Inspection of May 19, 2003................. May 21, 2004
New Motor Vehicles.''. [Insert FR page citation].
Sections: 28.3, 28.4, 28.6.
Subchapter 29, ``Mobile May 19, 2003................. May 21, 2004
Inspection Unit.''. [Insert FR page citation].
Sections: 29.1, 29.2, 29.3.
Subchapter 32, ``Inspection May 19, 2003................. May 21, 2004
Standards and Test Procedures [Insert FR page citation].
To Be Used By Official
Inspection Facilities.''.
Subchapter 33, ``Inspection May 19, 2003................. May 21, 2004
Standards and Test Procedures [Insert FR page citation].
To Be Used By Licensed Private
Inspection Facilities.''.
Subchapter 43, ``Enhanced Motor May 19, 2003................. May 21, 2004
Vehicle Inspection and [Insert FR page citation].
Maintenance Program.''.
Subchapter 44, ``Private May 19, 2003................. May 21, 2004
Inspection Facility [Insert FR page citation].
Licensing.''.
Subchapter 45, ``Motor Vehicle May 19, 2003................. May 21, 2004
Emission Repair Facility [Insert FR page citation].
Registration.''.
* * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 04-11433 Filed 5-20-04; 8:45 am]
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