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AGENCY:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION:
Proposed rule.
SUMMARY:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) consisting of California regulations and related test procedures that were adopted as part of California's Advanced Clean Cars I program and that establish standards and other requirements relating to the control of emissions of greenhouse gases from new passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles. The standards and other requirements relate to 2017 and subsequent model-year passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles. The EPA is proposing to approve the SIP revision because the regulations and related test procedures meet the applicable requirements of the Clean Air Act. If finalized, approval of the regulations and related test procedures as part of the California SIP will make them federally enforceable.
DATES:
Comments must be received on or before November 12, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-OAR-2024-0370 at https://www.regulations.gov. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. 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) 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 ( i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. If you need assistance in a language other than English or if you are a person with a disability who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeffrey Buss, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105. By phone: (415) 947-4152 or by email at buss.jeffrey@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, “we,” “us” and “our” refer to the EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. The State's Submission
A. What regulations did the State submit?
B. Would these regulations be new to the SIP?
C. What is the purpose of the submitted regulations?
III. EPA's Evaluation and Proposed Action
A. How is the EPA evaluating the regulations?
B. Do the State regulations meet CAA SIP evaluation criteria?
C. Proposed Action and Public Comment.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA or “Act”), the EPA establishes national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and welfare. The EPA has established NAAQS for a number of pervasive air pollutants including ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, lead and particulate matter, which are referred to as “criteria air pollutants.” Under section 110(a)(1) of the CAA, states must submit plans that provide for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the NAAQS within each state. Such plans are referred to as State Implementation Plans (SIPs) and revisions to those plans are referred to as SIP revisions. Section 110(a)(2) of the CAA sets forth the content requirements for SIPs. Among the various requirements, SIPs must include enforceable emission limitations and other control measures, means, or techniques that may be necessary or appropriate to meet the applicable requirements of the CAA. See CAA section 110(a)(2)(A).
Emissions sources contributing to ambient air pollution levels can be divided into two basic categories: Stationary emissions sources and mobile emissions sources. With certain exceptions, such as the EPA's authorities under CAA sections 111 and 112, the CAA assigns stationary source regulation to the states through title I of the Act and assigns mobile source regulation to the EPA through title II of the Act. In so doing, the CAA preempts various types of state regulation of mobile sources as set forth in section 209(a) (preemption of state emissions standards for new motor vehicles and engines) and section 209(e) (preemption of state emissions standards for new and non-new nonroad vehicles and engines).
EPA regulations refer to “nonroad” vehicles and engines whereas California regulations refer to “off-road” vehicles and engines. These terms refer to the same types of vehicles and engines.
Under California law, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is the State agency responsible for adopting and submitting the California SIP and SIP revisions to the EPA for approval. Over the years, CARB has submitted, and the EPA has approved, many county and regional air district rules regulating stationary source emissions as part of the California SIP. See generally40 CFR 52.220(c).
With respect to mobile sources that are specifically preempted under the CAA, CARB must request a waiver (for motor vehicles and engines) or authorization (for nonroad engines and vehicles) in order to enforce standards relating to the control of emissions and accompanying enforcement procedures for these types of mobile sources. See CAA sections 209(b) (new motor vehicles) and 209(e)(2) (most categories of new and non-new nonroad engines and vehicle vehicles). Over the years, CARB has submitted many requests for waiver or authorization of its standards and other requirements relating to the control of emissions from new motor vehicles and engines and new and non-new nonroad vehicles and engines, and the EPA has granted many such requests.
For example, the EPA has granted waivers for CARB's Advanced Clean Cars I program (this program includes California's Low Emission Vehicle (LEV III) criteria and greenhouse gas pollutant standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles, and a ZEV sales mandate). See78 FR 2112 (January 9, 2013) (Advanced Clean Cars program); 84 FR 51310 (September 27, 2019) (partial withdrawal of 2013 waiver for Advanced Clean Cars program); 87 FR 14332 (March 14, 2022) (reinstatement of 2013 waiver for Advanced Clean Cars program).
Once the EPA grants the request for waiver or authorization, CARB may enforce the corresponding mobile source regulations. In recent years, CARB has submitted as revisions to the California SIP, and the EPA has approved, various CARB mobile source regulations that establish standards and other requirements for the control of emissions from new motor vehicles and engines and new and non-new nonroad vehicles and engines for which the EPA has issued waivers or authorizations.
81 FR 39424 (June 16, 2016), 82 FR 14446 (March 21, 2017), and 83 FR 23232 (May 18, 2018). The Advanced Clean Cars I program includes LEV III criteria pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles and a Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) sales mandate. The EPA's June 16, 2016 SIP approval included the LEV III criteria pollutant emissions standards, and the ZEV sales mandate, but not the LEV III greenhouse gas emissions standards. We are proposing approval of the LEV III greenhouse gas emissions standards in this document.
CARB and the air districts rely on these county, regional, and State stationary and mobile source regulations to meet various CAA requirements and include the corresponding emissions reductions of criteria air pollutants or their precursors in the various regional air quality plans developed to attain and maintain the NAAQS. Precursors for criteria air pollutants include oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for ozone and particulate matter (PM). The EPA generally allows California to take credit for the corresponding emissions reductions relied upon in the various regional air quality plans because, among other reasons, the regulations are approved as part of the SIP and are thereby federally enforceable as required under CAA section 110(a)(2)(A).
One of the SIP revisions that included CARB mobile source regulations for which the EPA has granted waivers or authorizations under CAA section 209 was a SIP revision that CARB submitted to the EPA on August 14, 2015. CARB's August 14, 2015 SIP revision submission included, among other regulations, a set of state regulations referred to as the Advanced Clean Cars (herein, “ACC I”) program, which was adopted by CARB in 2012. The ACC I program, which includes CARB's Low-Emission Vehicle III (LEV III) and zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) regulations, provides a single coordinated package of requirements for controlling criteria air pollutants or their precursors and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for Model Year (MY) 2015 through 2025 passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles.
The ACC program adopted by CARB in 2012 is now referred to as “ACC I” to distinguish it from CARB's newly adopted Advanced Clean Cars II (“ACC II”) program.
CARB, Staff Report: Initial Statement of Reasons for Proposed Rulemaking, Public Hearing to Consider the “LEV III” Amendments to the California Greenhouse Gas and Criteria Pollutant Exhaust and Evaporative Emission Standards and Test Procedures and to the On-Board Diagnostic System Requirements for Passenger Cars, Light-Duty Trucks, and Medium-Duty Vehicles, and to the Evaporative Emission Requirements for Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Release Date: December 7, 2011, page ES-3. See, also 78 FR 2112 (January 9, 2013).
Through CARB Resolution 15-40, the CARB Board approved the ACC I program for inclusion in the California SIP along with many other CARB measures for which the EPA had issued waivers or authorizations, for which EPA waivers/authorizations were pending, and for which CARB had not yet submitted waiver/authorization requests, and it authorized the CARB Executive Officer to determine which of the measures were appropriate for submission to the EPA as part of the SIP. Under the authority granted in Resolution 15-40, the CARB Executive Officer included the ACC I program along with many other CARB regulations in the August 14, 2015 SIP submission for which the EPA had issued waivers or authorizations, but he did not include the GHG-related provisions of the ACC I program. In 2016, the EPA finalized approval of CARB's August 14, 2015 SIP submission as submitted by CARB into the State's SIP.
CARB, Resolution 15-40, July 23, 2015. Resolution 15-40 includes Attachment A (“Waiver/Authorization List included as set forth in the Appendix A to the Staff Report, released June 19, 2015”), that identifies the regulations covered by the resolution.
81 FR 39124 (June 16, 2016).
On December 7, 2016, the CARB Executive Officer submitted a second set of regulations that had been approved for submission as part of the SIP through CARB Resolution 15-40. The second set of regulations consists of regulations for which the EPA had granted waivers or authorizations between August 2015 and December 2016. On June 15, 2017, the CARB Executive Officer submitted a third set of regulations, those for which the EPA had granted waivers or authorizations between December 2016 and June 2017.
The EPA approved the second set of regulations at 82 FR 14446 (March 21, 2017). The regulations included in the second set included regulations establishing emission standard requirements for Large Spark-Ignition (LSI) engines and Small Off-Road Equipment (SORE) and on-board diagnostic (OBD) system requirements for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, medium-duty vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles.
The EPA approved the third set of regulations at 83 FR 23232 (May 18, 2018). The regulations included in the third set included regulations establishing emission standard requirements for commercial harbor craft (CHC), in-use diesel-fueled transport refrigeration units (TRUs), on-road heavy-duty diesel engines and off-highway recreational vehicles.
On July 3, 2021, CARB submitted the GHG-related provisions from the ACC I program to the EPA as a SIP revision. As noted previously, these provisions had not been included in the August 14, 2015 SIP submission. In this action, the EPA is proposing approval of the regulations and related test procedures included in CARB's July 3, 2021 SIP submission.
II. The State's Submission
A. What regulations did the State submit?
On July 3, 2021, CARB submitted a SIP revision that included certain State mobile source GHG emission regulations that had not been included in CARB's August 14, 2015 SIP revision submission that had included other elements of its ACC I program. The SIP submission package consists of the regulations and related test procedures comprising the SIP revision itself as well as estimates of the emissions reductions associated with the GHG-related portions of the ACC I program and documentation of the public process conducted by CARB in approving the regulations (including related test procedures) as part of the California SIP.
CARB submitted the SIP revision electronically on July 3, 2021, as attachments to a letter dated July 2, 2021 from Richard W. Cory, Executive Officer, CARB, to Deborah Jordan, EPA Region IX Acting Regional Administrator.
Table 1 lists the specific sections of the California Code of Regulations (CCR) that are included in the July 3, 2021 SIP revision along with the corresponding date of CARB's Board hearing during which the regulations or amendments were adopted, the state rules' effective dates, and a description of the submitted regulations.
Table 1—Regulations Submitted for Approval on July 3, 2021
| Section No. 13 CCR | Rule title | Relevant CARB hearing date(s) | State effective date(s) | Description of the submitted regulations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961.1 | Greenhouse Gas Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures—2009 through 2016 Model Passenger Cars, Light-Duty Trucks, and Medium-Duty Vehicles | 01/26/2012 | 08/07/2012 | Amends existing regulation to account for adoption of a new section 1961.3 and updates certain citations and references. |
| 1961.2 | Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures—2015 and Subsequent Model Passenger Cars, Light-Duty Trucks, and Medium-Duty Vehicles | 09/28/2018 | 12/12/2018 | Updates test procedure reference. |
| 1961.3 | Greenhouse Gas Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures—2017 and Subsequent Model Passenger Cars, Light-Duty Trucks, and Medium-Duty Passenger Vehicles | 01/26/2012, 09/28/2012 | 08/08/2012, 12/12/2018 | Establishes fleet average carbon dioxide emissions standards for MY 2017 and subsequent MY passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles. Establishes nitrous oxide and methane exhaust emissions standards for the same classification of vehicles. Other subsections establish an optional compliance approach and calculation procedures for credits and identify test procedures, among other requirements. |
| 1962.2(g)(6) | Use of ZEV Credits | 01/26/2012, 11/15/2012 | 08/07/2012, 12/31/2012 | Provides for the use of ZEV credits, and other types of credits, by manufacturers. Provides for “GHG-ZEV Over Compliance Credits” and establishes requirements relating to applications, credit generation and calculation, use, and reporting. |
Table 2—Documents Incorporated by Reference in CARB Regulations Listed in Table 1 and Submitted as Part of the SIP Revision
| California 2001 through 2014 Model Criteria Pollutant Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures and 2009 through 2016 and Subsequent Model Greenhouse Gas Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for Passenger Cars, Light-Duty Trucks, and Medium-Duty Vehicles, as last amended March 22, 2012 (GHG-related provisions). |
| California 2015 and Subsequent Model Criteria Pollutant Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures and 2017 and Subsequent Model Greenhouse Gas Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for Passenger Cars, Light-Duty Trucks, and Medium-Duty Vehicles, adopted March 22, 2012 (GHG-related provisions). |
| California 2015 and Subsequent Model Criteria Pollutant Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures and 2017 and Subsequent Model Greenhouse Gas Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for Passenger Cars, Light-Duty Trucks, and Medium-Duty Vehicles, as amended September 28, 2018. |
| California Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for 2009 through 2017 Model Zero-Emission Vehicles and Hybrid Electric Vehicles, in the Passenger Car, Light-Duty Truck, and Medium-Duty Vehicle Classes, as last amended March 22, 2012 (GHG-related provisions). |
| California Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for 2018 and Subsequent Model Zero-Emission Vehicles and Hybrid Electric Vehicles, in the Passenger Car, Light-Duty Truck, and Medium-Duty Vehicle Classes, adopted March 22, 2012 (GHG-related provisions). |
| California 2015 and Subsequent Model Criteria Pollutant Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures and 2017 and Subsequent Model Greenhouse Gas Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for Passenger Cars, Light-Duty Trucks, and Medium-Duty Vehicles, as last amended December 6, 2012 (GHG-related provisions). |
| California 2001 through 2014 Model Criteria Pollutant Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures and 2009 through 2016 Model Greenhouse Gas Exhaust Emission standards and Test Procedures for Passenger Cars, Light-Duty Trucks, and Medium-Duty Vehicles, as last amended December 6, 2012 (GHG-related provisions). |
| California Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures for 2018 and Subsequent Model Zero-Emission Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles, in the Passenger Car, Light-Duty Truck, and Medium-Duty Vehicle Classes, adopted December 6, 2012 (GHG-related provisions). |