California State Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Standards; Waiver of Federal preemption; Decision

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5065-7]

California State Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Standards;

Waiver of Federal preemption; Decision

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice regarding waiver of Federal preemption.

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SUMMARY: EPA is granting California a waiver of Federal Preemption

pursuant to section 209(b) of the Clean Air Act to enforce amendments

to its motor vehicle emission standards and test procedures to require

more stringent evaporative emission standards, durability requirements,

and testing procedures for 1995 model year passenger cars, light-duty

trucks, medium-duty vehicles, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines,

except petroleum-fueled diesel vehicles. California also amended its

corresponding regulations.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the above standards, durability requirements,

testing procedures, the decision document containing an explanation of

the Administrator's determination, and the record of those documents

used in arriving at this decision, are available for public inspection

during the working hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday,

at: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air and Radiation Docket and

Information Center (Docket #A-92-05), room M1500, First Floor Waterside

Mall, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460, Telephone: (202) 260-

9256.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David J. Dickinson, Attorney/Advisor,

Manufacturers Operations Division (6405J), U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460. Telephone:

(202) 233-9256.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I have decided to grant California a waiver

of Federal preemption pursuant to section 209(b) of the Clean Air Act,

as amended (Act), 42 U.S.C. 7543(b), for amendments to its evaporative

emission standards, durability requirements, and test procedures for

1995 model year passenger cars, light-duty trucks, medium-duty

vehicles, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines.1 A comprehensive

description of the California evaporative emission regulations can be

found in the decision document for this waiver and in materials

submitted to the Docket by California.

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\1\California's initial waiver request included a request for

waiver of Federal preemption for model years 1995 and thereafter. In

a revised waiver request California limited the applicability of its

new amendments to model year 1995. EPA anticipates California to

revise its evaporative emission test procedure for model year 1996

and thereafter, and to submit an additional waiver request for such

test, in order to produce a more closely aligned test procedure with

EPA's new test procedure commencing in 1996.

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Section 209(b) of the Act provides that, if certain criteria are

met, the Administrator shall waive Federal preemption for California to

enforce new motor vehicle emission standards and accompanying

enforcement procedures. The criteria include consideration of whether

California arbitrarily and capriciously determined that its standards

are, in the aggregate, at least as protective of public health and

welfare as the applicable Federal standards; whether California needs

State standards to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions; and

whether California's amendments are consistent with section 202(a) of

the Act.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) determined that these

standards and accompanying enforcement procedures do not cause

California's standards, in the aggregate, to be less protective of

public health and welfare than the applicable Federal standards. No

information was presented to me by any parties to demonstrate that CARB

arbitrarily or capriciously reached this protectiveness determination.

Therefore, I cannot find CARB's determination to be arbitrary and

capricious.

CARB has continually demonstrated the existence of compelling and

extraordinary conditions justifying the need for its own motor vehicle

emission control program, which includes the subject standards and

procedures. No information has been submitted to demonstrate that

California no longer has a compelling and extraordinary need for its

own program. Therefore, I agree that California continues to have

compelling and extraordinary conditions which require its own program,

and, thus, I cannot deny the waiver on the basis of the lack of

compelling and extraordinary conditions.

CARB has submitted information that its emission standards and

durability requirements are technologically feasible and present no

inconsistency with Federal requirements and are, therefore, consistent

with section 202(a) of the Act. Additionally, CARB determined that

certain differences exist between California and Federal test

procedures but that any vehicle that satisfies California's

requirements can be presumed to meet the Federal requirements. Because

of the test procedure inconsistencies described by CARB, EPA agrees

that a manufacturer would be unable to demonstrate compliance with both

California and Federal requirements with the same test vehicle in the

course of a single test sequence. Therefore, EPA will accept the data

used to successfully certify under CARB's 1995 model year evaporative

emissions test procedures as demonstrating compliance with applicable

EPA standards. Accordingly, I hereby grant the waiver requested by

California.

My decision will affect not only persons in California but also the

manufacturers outside the State who must comply with California's

requirements in order to produce motor vehicles for sale in California.

For this reason, I hereby determine and find that this is a final

action of national applicability.

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, judicial review of this final

action may be sought only in the United States Court of Appeals for the

District of Columbia Circuit. Petitions for review must be filed by

November 14, 1994. Under section 307(b)(2) of the Act, judicial review

of this final action may not be obtained in subsequent enforcement

proceedings.

As with past waiver decisions, this action is not a rule as defined

in the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601(2). Therefore, EPA has

not prepared a supporting regulatory flexibility analysis addressing

the impact of this action on small business entities.

Dated: August 25, 1994.

Ann E. Goode,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.

[FR Doc. 94-22585 Filed 9-12-94; 8:45 am]

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