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US 62521 2010

Note: Due to the size of US 62521 2010, a pdf of the entire proposed rule may be downloaded here (file size: 880k).

CITATION: 40 CFR Parts 85, 86, 1036, et al.

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency

VERSION: Proposed Rule

VERSION DATE: 11/30/2010

FR Doc 2010-28120 [Federal Register: November 30, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 229)] [Proposed Rules] [DOCID:fr30no10-30] Part II

Env-ironmental Protection Agency

40 CFR Parts 85, 86, 1036, et al.

Department of Transportation

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Parts 523, 534, and 535
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles; Proposed Rule ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 85, 86, 1036, 1037, 1065, 1066, and 1068
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Parts 523, 534, and 535
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0162; NHTSA-2010-0079; FRL-9219-4] RIN 2060-AP61; RIN 2127-AK74

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles

AGENCIES: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Proposed rules.

SUMMARY: EPA and NHTSA, on behalf of the Department of Transportation, are each proposing rules to establish a comprehensive Heavy-Duty National Program that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase fuel efficiency for on-road heavy-duty vehicles, responding to the President's directive on May 21, 2010, to take coordinated steps to produce a new generation of clean vehicles. NHTSA's proposed fuel consumption standards and EPA's proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions standards would be tailored to each of three regulatory categories of heavy-duty vehicles: Combination Tractors; Heavy-Duty Pickup Trucks and Vans; and Vocational Vehicles, as well as gasoline and diesel heavy-duty engines. EPA's proposed hydrofluorocarbon emissions standards would apply to air conditioning systems in tractors, pickup trucks, and vans, and EPA's proposed nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions standards would apply to all heavy-duty engines, pickup trucks, and vans. EPA is also requesting comment on possible alternative CO2-equivalent approaches for model year 2012-14 light-duty vehicles.

EPA's proposed greenhouse gas emission standards under the Clean Air Act would begin with model year 2014. NHTSA's proposed fuel consumption standards under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 would be voluntary in model years 2014 and 2015, becoming mandatory with model year 2016 for most regulatory categories. Commercial trailers would not be regulated in this phase of the Heavy- Duty National Program, although there is a discussion of the possibility of future action for trailers.

DATES: Comments: Comments on all aspects of this proposal must be received on or before January 31, 2011. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, comments on the information collection provisions must be received by the Office of Management and Budget on or before December 30, 2010. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section on "Public Participation" for more information about written comments.

Public Hearings: NHTSA and EPA will jointly hold two public hearings on the following dates: November 15, 2010 in Chicago, IL; and November 18, 2010 in Cambridge, MA, as announced at 75 FR 67059, November 1, 2010. The hearing in Chicago will start at 11 a.m. local time and continue until 5 p.m. or until everyone has had a chance to speak. The hearing in Cambridge will begin at 10 a.m. and continue until 5 p.m. or until everyone has had a chance to speak. See "How Do I Participate in the Public Hearings?" below at B. (7) under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section on "Public Participation" for more information about the public hearings.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. NHTSA- 2010-0079 and/or EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0162, by one of the following methods:

http:///www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.

E-mail: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov.

Fax: NHTSA: (202) 493-2251; EPA: (202) 566-9744.

Mail:

NHTSA: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.

EPA: Air Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. In addition, please mail a copy of your comments on the information collection provisions to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attn: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th St., NW., Washington, DC 20503.

Hand Delivery:

NHTSA: West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.

EPA: EPA Docket Center, (Air Docket), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA West Building, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Room: 3334, Mail Code 2822T, Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. NHTSA-2010-0079 and/or EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0162. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section on "Public Participation" for additional instructions on submitting written comments.

Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http:/// www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., confidential business information or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy in EPA's docket, but may be available electronically in NHTSA's docket at regulations.gov. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically in http:///www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the following locations:

NHTSA: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Management Facility is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

EPA: EPA Docket Center, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Air Docket is (202) 566-1742.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: NHTSA: Rebecca Yoon, Office of Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2992.

EPA: Lauren Steele, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Assessment and Standards Division (ASD), Environmental Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48105; telephone number: (734) 214-4788; fax number: (734) 214-4816; e-mail address: steele.lauren@epa.gov, or Assessment and Standards Division Hotline; telephone number; (734) 214-4636; e-mail asdinfo@epa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Does this action apply to me?

This action would affect companies that manufacture, sell, or import into the United States new heavy-duty engines and new Class 2b through 8 trucks, including combination tractors, school and transit buses, vocational vehicles such as utility service trucks, as well as \3/4\-ton and 1-ton pickup trucks and vans.\1\ The heavy-duty category incorporates all motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 pounds or greater, and the engines that power them, except for medium-duty passenger vehicles already covered by the greenhouse gas standards and corporate average fuel economy standards issued for light-duty model year 2012-2016 vehicles. This action also includes a discussion of the possible future regulation of commercial trailers and is requesting comment on possible alternative CO2-equivalent approaches for model year 2012-14 light-duty vehicles. Potentially affected categories and entities include the following:

\1\ For purposes of NHTSA's fuel consumption regulations, non- commercial recreational vehicles will not be covered, even if they would otherwise fall under these categories. See 49 U.S.C. 32901(a)(7).

TP30NO10.000

This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by this proposal. This table lists the types of entities that the agencies are now aware could potentially be regulated by this action. Other types of entities not listed in the table could also be regulated. To determine whether your activities may be regulated by this action, you should carefully examine the applicability criteria in 40 CFR parts 1036 and 1037, 49 CFR parts 523, 534, and 535, and the referenced regulations. You may direct questions regarding the applicability of this action to the persons listed in the preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

B. Public Participation

NHTSA and EPA request comment on all aspects of these joint proposed rules. This section describes how you can participate in this process.

(1) How do I prepare and submit comments?

In this joint proposal, there are many aspects of the program common to both EPA and NHTSA. For the convenience of all parties, comments submitted to the EPA docket (whether hard copy or electronic) will be considered comments submitted to the NHTSA docket, and vice versa. An exception is that comments submitted to the NHTSA docket on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement will not be considered submitted to the EPA docket. Therefore, the public only needs to submit comments to either one of the two agency dockets. Comments that are submitted for consideration by one agency should be identified as such, and comments that are submitted for consideration by both agencies should be identified as such. Absent such identification, each agency will exercise its best judgment to determine whether a comment is submitted on its proposal.

Further instructions for submitting comments to either the EPA or NHTSA docket are described below.

NHTSA: Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the Docket I.D No. NHTSA-2010-0079 in your comments. By regulation, your comments must not be more than 15 pages long (49 CFR 553.21). NHTSA established this limit to encourage you to write your primary comments in a concise fashion. However, you may attach necessary additional documents to your comments. There is no limit on the lenght of the attachments. If you are submitting comments electronically as a PDF (Adobe) file, we ask that the documents submitted be scanned using the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) process, thus allowing the agencies to search and copy certain portions of your submissions.\2\ Please note that pursuant to the Data Quality Act, in order for the substantive data to be relied upon and used by the agencies, it must meet the information quality standards set forth in the OMB and Department of Transportation (DOT) Data Quality Act quidelines. Accordingly, we encourage you to consult the guidelines in preparing your comments. OMB's guidelines may be accessed at http:///www.whitehouse.gov /omb/ fedreg /reproducible.html. DOT's guidelines may be access at http:/// regs.dot.gov.

\2\ Optical character recognition (OCR) is the process of converting an image of text, such as a scanned paper document or electronic fax file, into computer-editable text.

EPA: Direct your comments to Docket ID No EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0162. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at http:// /www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http:///www.regulations.gov or e- mail. The http:///www.regulations.gov Web site is an "anonymous access" system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through http:/// www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http:///www.epa.gov /epahome /dockets.htm.

(2) Tips for Preparing Your Comments

When submitting comments, remember to:

Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).

Follow directions--The agencies may ask you to respond to specific questions or organize comments by referencing a part or section number from the Code of Federal Regulations.

Explain why you agree or disagree, suggest alternatives, and substitute language for your requested changes.

Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information and/or data that you used.

If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be reproduced.

Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and suggest alternatives.

Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of profanity or personal threats.

Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline identified in the DATES section above.

(3) How can I be sure that my comments were received?

NHTSA: If you submit your comments by mail and wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket Management will return the postcard by mail.

(4) How do I submit confidential business information?

Any CBI submitted to one of the agencies will also be available to the other agency.\3\ However, as with all public comments, any CBI information only needs to be submitted to either one of the agencies' dockets and it will be available to the other. Following are specific instructions for submitting CBI to either agency.

\3\ This statement constitutes notice to commenters pursuant to 40 CFR 2.209(c) that EPA will share confidential business information received with NHTSA unless commenters expressly specify that they wish to submit their CBI only to EPA and not to both agencies.

NHTSA: If you wish to submit any information under a claim of confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete submission, including the information you claim to be CBI, to the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the address given above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. When you send a comment containing CBI, you should include a cover letter setting forth the information specified in our CBI regulation. In addition, you should submit a copy from which you have deleted the claimed CBI to the Docket by one of the methods set forth above.

EPA: Do not submit CBI to EPA through http:///www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI in a disk or CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

(5) Will the agencies consider late comments?

NHTSA and EPA will consider all comments received before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated above under DATES. To the extent practicable, we will also consider comments received after that date. If interested persons believe that any new information the agency places in the docket affects their comments, they may submit comments after the closing date concerning how the agency should consider that information for the final rules. However, the agencies' ability to consider any such late comments in this rulemaking will be limited due to the time frame for issuing the final rules.

If a comment is received too late for us to practicably consider in developing the final rules, we will consider that comment as an informal suggestion for future rulemaking action. How can I read the comments submitted by other people?

You may read the materials placed in the dockets for this document (e.g., the comments submitted in response to this document by other interested persons) at any time by going to http:///www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets. You may also read the materials at the NHTSA Docket Management Facility or the EPA Docket Center by going to the street addresses given above under ADDRESSES.

How do I participate in the public hearings?

EPA and NHTSA will jointly host two public hearings. The November 15 hearing will be held at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago, 163 East Walton Place (at N. Michigan Ave.), Chicago, Illinois 60611. The November 18, 2010 hearing will be held at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge, 575 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4896. If you would like to present oral testimony at a public hearing, we ask that you notify both the NHTSA and EPA contact persons listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT at least ten days before the hearing. Once the agencies learn how many people have registered to speak at the public hearings, we will allocate an appropriate amount of time to each participant, allowing time for necessary breaks. For planning purposes, each speaker should anticipate speaking for approximately ten minutes, although we may need to shorten that time if there is a large turnout. We request that you bring three copies of your statement or other material for the agencies' panels. To accommodate as many speakers as possible, we prefer that speakers not use technological aids (e.g., audio-visuals, computer slideshows). In addition, we will reserve a block of time for anyone else in the audience who wants to give testimony.

Each hearing will be held at a site accessible to individuals with disabilities. Individuals who require accommodations such as sign language interpreters should contact the persons listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section above no later than ten days before the date of the hearing.

EPA and NHTSA will conduct the hearings informally, and technical rules of evidence will not apply. We will arrange for a written transcript of each hearing and keep the official records of the hearings open for 30 days to allow you to submit supplementary information. You may make arrangements for copies of a transcript directly with the court reporter.

C. Additional Information About This Rulemaking

EPA's Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for regulating greenhouse gases under the CAA (see 73 FR 44353, July 30, 2008) included a discussion of possible rulemaking paths for the heavy-duty transportation sector. This notice of proposed rulemaking relies in part on information that was obtained from that notice, which can be found in Public Docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0318. That docket is incorporated into the docket for this action, EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0162.

Table of Contents

A. Does this action apply to me? B. Public Participation C. Additional Information About This Rulemaking

I. Overview

A. Introduction

B. Building Blocks of the Heavy-Duty National Program

C. Summary of the Proposed EPA and NHTSA HD National Program

D. Summary of Costs and Benefits of the HD National Program

E. Program Flexibilities

F. EPA and NHTSA Statutory Authorities

G. Future HD GHG and Fuel Consumption Rulemakings

II. Proposed GHG and Fuel Consumption Standards for Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles

A. What vehicles would be affected?

B. Class 7 and 8 Combination Tractors

C. Heavy-Duty Pickup Trucks and Vans

D. Class 2b-8 Vocational Vehicles

E. Other Standards Provisions

III. Feasibility Assessments and Conclusions

A. Class 7-8 Combination Tractor

B. Heavy-Duty Pickup Trucks and Vans

C. Class 2b-8 Vocational Vehicles

IV. Proposed Regulatory Flexibility Provisions

A. Averaging, Banking, and Trading Program

B. Additional Proposed Flexibility Provisions

V. NHTSA and EPA Proposed Compliance, Certification, and Enforcement Provisions

A. Overview

B. Heavy-Duty Pickup Trucks and Vans

C. Heavy-Duty Engines

D. Class 7 and 8 Combination Tractors

E. Class 2b-8 Vocational Vehicles

F. General Regulatory Provisions

G. Penalties

VI. How would this proposed program impact fuel consumption, GHG emissions, and climate change?

A. What methodologies did the agencies use to project GHG emissions and fuel consumption impacts?

B. MOVES Analysis

C. What are the projected reductions in fuel consumption and GHG emissions?

D. Overview of Climate Change Impacts From GHG Emissions

E. Changes in Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations, Global Mean Temperature, Sea Level Rise, and Ocean pH Associated With the Proposal's GHG Emissions Reductions

VII. How would this proposal impact Non-GHG emissions and their associated effects?

A. Emissions Inventory Impacts

B. Health Effects of Non-GHG Pollutants

C. Environmental Effects of Non-GHG Pollutants

D. Air Quality Impacts of Non-GHG Pollutants

VIII. What are the agencies' estimated cost, economic, and other impacts of the proposed program?

A. Conceptual Framework for Evaluating Impacts

B. Costs Associated With the Proposed Program

C. Indirect Cost Multipliers

D. Cost Per Ton of Emissions Reductions

E. Impacts of Reduction in Fuel Consumption

F. Class Shifting and Fleet Turnover Impacts