Control of Air Pollution From New Motor Vehicles and New Motor Vehicle Engines; Draft Tier 2 Study and Fuel Sulfur Paper Availability

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 86

[FRL-6005-2]

Control of Air Pollution From New Motor Vehicles and New Motor

Vehicle Engines; Draft Tier 2 Study and Fuel Sulfur Paper Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

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SUMMARY: The Clean Air Act requires EPA to prepare a study and submit a

report to Congress regarding whether or not further reductions in

emissions from light-duty vehicles and light-duty trucks should be

required. EPA has performed the required study, called the ``Tier 2

Study.'' Today EPA is releasing a draft of the study for public comment

prior to submitting it to Congress.

In the very near future, EPA will also be releasing a related

document titled ``EPA Staff Paper on Gasoline Sulfur Issues'' and

encourages public comment on this document as well.

DATES: EPA requests that comments on the draft Tier 2 Study be

submitted by June 12, 1998. A public meeting to discuss the gasoline

sulfur issues and the Gasoline Sulfur Staff Paper will be held on May

12, 1998 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Materials relevant to this rulemaking are contained in

Docket No. A-97-10 which may be found at 401 M Street, SW., Washington,

DC 20460 and may be viewed in room M1500 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30

p.m., Monday through Friday. The telephone number is (202) 260-7548 and

the fax number is (202) 260-4400. A reasonable fee may be charged by

EPA for copying docket material.

The Draft Tier 2 Study is also available electronically from the

EPA Office of Mobile Sources World Wide Web site at http://www.epa.gov/

omswww/tr2home/htm. The Gasoline Sulfur Staff Paper will also be

available on this Web site upon its release.

Comments should be sent to Docket No. A-97-10 at the above address.

EPA requests that a copy of comments also be sent to Tad Wysor, U.S.

EPA, Engine Programs and Compliance Division, 2565 Plymouth Road, Ann

Arbor, Michigan 48105 or to the Tier 2 E-mailbox ``tier2-

[email protected].''

The public meeting will be held at Quality Hotel, 1200 N.

Courthouse Rd., Arlington, VA 22201 (Telephone: (703) 524-4000).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Delores Frank, U.S. EPA, Fuels and

Energy Division, 2565 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105,

Telephone 734-668-4295.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 1990 revisions to the Clean Air Act set

specific exhaust emission standards for light-duty vehicles or LDVs

(passenger cars) and light-duty trucks or LDTs (including sport-utility

vehicles, minivans, and pickup trucks) beginning in the 1994 model

year. These ``Tier 1'' standards were required by Sections 202(g) and

(h) of the Clean Air Act as revised (``the Act''). Section 202(i) of

the Act requires EPA to ``study whether or not further reductions in

emissions from light-duty vehicles and light-duty trucks should be

required....'' The Act required EPA to examine three specific issues

related to that question: (1) the need for further emission reductions

in order to attain or maintain compliance with the National Ambient Air

Quality Standards (NAAQS); (2) the technological feasibility of meeting

more stringent standards by the 2004 model year; and (3) the cost-

effectiveness of such further reductions as compared to alternate means

of reducing emissions. The Study was to be submitted to Congress by

June 1, 1997. EPA has recently entered into a draft consent decree to

sign a letter transmitting the Study by July 31, 1998.

Section 202(i) of the Act also requires that EPA provide a

reasonable opportunity for public comment on the Tier 2 study prior to

its formal submittal to Congress. In response to this

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requirement, the Agency is today releasing EPA's current draft of the

Tier 2 study for comment. EPA will include a summary of any comments

received on this draft when it submits the final report to Congress.

In the draft Tier 2 Study, EPA discusses and provides information

on each of the three areas mentioned above but does not make a

determination about whether further emission reductions are

appropriate. EPA plans to make such a determination by way of later

rulemaking action, to be finalized by the end of 1999, as required by

the Act. In addition to addressing the three issues of need,

feasibility, and cost effectiveness, the Study also discusses several

key issues related to the development of a potential Tier 2 program and

the next steps EPA is planning.

In addition to the draft Tier 2 Study, EPA will soon be releasing a

related document titled ``EPA Staff Paper on Gasoline Sulfur Issues.''

Because of its effect on catalytic converters, sulfur in gasoline is a

very important issue when vehicle emission standards more stringent

than today's standards are considered. The Staff Paper discusses a

range of issues including the interactions between sulfur in gasoline

and vehicle technology, the impact on refinery operations of reducing

gasoline sulfur content, other fuel quality issues, a review of fuel

sulfur control programs in other countries, and a review of proposals

that have been put forward on this topic by key stakeholders. EPA plans

to address any comments received on the Staff Paper as a part of any

proposed rulemaking that EPA pursues relating to this Tier 2 emission

standards. EPA will also hold a public meeting to discuss issues

relating to gasoline sulfur and the Gasoline Sulfur Staff Paper (see

ADDRESSES above).

Dated: April, 23, 1998.

Richard D. Wilson,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.

[FR Doc. 98-11266 Filed 4-27-98; 8:45 am]

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