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OAR Box 1142 

Prepped by Ollie Stewart 

Document Number: 

6) IV-F-4 

Docket Number: 

A-87-11 

Printed 4/23/2008 10:21:21 AM Sheet 6 of 30 
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-A-87-I, 

2

\V-F-H ' 

TESTIMONY OF 

HAROLD GARABEDIAN 

ON BEHALF OF THE 

STATE AND TERRITORIAL AIR POLLUTION PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS 

AND THE 

ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL AIR POLLUTION CONTROL OFFICIALS 

BEFORE THE __———- r 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACEHCPtj;—7f"^ R \\ ^\ Yc \r\\\ 

REGARDING . \U\ 1|JSJ^"^'""" "M:'\ 

ONBOARD CONTROLS \\b<V 

Wii 0CT-2I9 9 1 •:'•<} 

September 26, 1991 |l J| j > 

Good morning. My name ls Harold Garabedian and I am the 

Deputy Director of the Air Pollution Control Division of the 

State of Vermont. I appear hear today on behalf of the State and 

Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators (STAPPA) and the 

Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (ALAPCO), 

who appreciate this opportunity to offer testimony 'on the 

Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) responsibilities to 

publish regulations requiring automobile manufacturers to install 

onboard refueling controls on new motor vehicles in order to 

capture gasoline vapors. Attached to ray written statement is a 

copy of a STAPPA/ALAPCO position calling for the promulgation of 

onboard regulations; this resolution was adopted by the 

associations at their Fall Membership Meeting held earlier this 

week. 

STAPPA and ALAPCO are the two national associations 

representing air pollution control agencies in the 54 states and 

territories and over 200 major metropolitan areas across the 

country. Under the provisions of the Clean Air Act, the members 

of STAPPA and ALAPCO hold primary responsibility for ensuring 

healthful air quality for our citizens. 
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Our message today is simple -- we strongly urge EPA to 

fulfill its statutory obligations under the Clean Air Act by 

promulgating regulations requiring onboard controls by November 

15, 1991. We make this statement for several reasons. 

First, the law is clear and nondiscretionary -- EPA must 

issue regulations within one year. Section 202(a)(6) of the act 

states that "within one year after the date of the enactment of 

the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the Administrator sbaJJL, 

after consultation with the Secretary of Transportation regarding 

the safety of vehicle-based ('onboard') systems for the control 

of refueling emissions, promulgate standards under this 

section...." (emphasis added). , The act does not provide for 

extensions to this deadline, nor does it require the Department 

of Transportation to concur with EPA's regulations. It mandates 

that EPA consult with the Department o£ Transportation (DOT) and 

then issue regulations within one year. In that EPA has 

completed Its consultation with DOT, the agency must now issue 

its regulations. The law could not be more explicit. 

The United States General Accounting Office (GAO) has also 

concluded that EPA should "go forward with the onboard regulation 

by November 15, 1991, as required by the Clean Air Act Amendments 

of 1990...." ("Air Pollution -- New Approach Needed to Resolve 

Safety Issue for Vapor Recovery Systems," June 1991.) GAO also 

recommends that EPA and DOT develop an "action plan.to perform a 

safety evaluation of manufacturers' onboard systems to identify 

and correct any safety defects or flaws well in advance of the 

1996 model year so than an orderly phase-in occurs." 
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Second, it is important that EPA issue regulations for 

onboard vapor recovery on time given the significant health and 

environmental benefits associated with these controls. Today, 

over 90 areas exceed the federal health-based standard for ozone. 

Motor vehicles are the most dominant source of ozone precursors, 

including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), contributing over 40 

percent of VOCs in most major metropolitan areas. Refueling 

emissions account for a relatively large portion of these 

emissions, representing 2 to 3 percent of the total VOC 

inventory. In addition, EPA has estimated that motor vehicles, 

including refueling operations, contribute to over one-half of 

the 2,700 air toxic-related cancers that result annually. 

To address refueling emissions, STAPPA and ALAPCO have, for 

a number of years, advocated the joint implementation of two 

control measures which complement one another. The first, Stage 

II Vapor Recovery, is a short-term control strategy that has 

already been proven to effectively reduce VOC emissions and 

exposure to toxic air pollution and will assist all ozone 

. nonattainment areas in achieving the National Ambient Air Ouality 

Standard. The second, onboard controls, represents an excellent 

companion strategy that will achieve long-term VOC and air toxic 

reductions in both attainment and nonattainment areas across the 

country. Recent EPA estimates indicate that implementation of 

onboard controls will decrease refueling emissions nationwide, 

with the exception of California, by approximately 280,000 tons. 
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State and local air quality agencies will necessarily rely 

upon onboard controls to meet certain federally mandated 

obligations under the Clean Air Act. For instance, the 

reductions achieved through the use of onboard controls will help 

areas attain and maintain the National Ambient Air Quality 

Standard for ozone. In addition, agencies will need these 

onboard controls to meet their annual 3-percent VOC reduction 

requirement, a mandate that will become increasingly difficult to 

achieve in future years. If onboard regulations are not 

promulgated, many agencies could eventually fail to meet these 

requirements and be subject to federal sanctions under the Clean 

Air Act, including the mandatory withholding of federal highway 

funds and substantial air offsets for constructing. new 

facilities. Additionally, onboard canisters will yield 

significant reductions in emissions of air toxics. Further, 

given the national scope of the onboard program, associated air 

quality benefits will occur not only in ozone nonattainment areas 

--as is the case with Stage II Vapor Recovery -- but also in 

attainment areas. 

Finally, I would like to conclude with a comment about the 

alleged safety consequences of onboard canisters. As I have 

already mentioned, the Clean Air Act requires EPA to consult 

within one year with DOT (the National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administrator — NHTSA) on the safety of refueling canisters. 

DOT concurrence, however, is not required under the act. 
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Consultation with NHTSA has been completed and the 

conclusions of the study are revealing. NHTSA did not conclude 

that refueling canisters are unsafe but, rather, that it would be 

reasonable for EPA to conclude that the canisters present 

"unreasonable" safety risks. While STAPPA and ALAPCO are not 

experts on the issue of safety, we do note that NHTSA's 

conclusions seem extremely ambiguous. Moreover, other 

independent safety studies that have been published in recent 

years actually demonstrate improved safety of onboard controls. 

In 1988, the Battelle Institute conducted a study for EPA on 

refueling canister safety and found that most of the risks that 

could possibly be associated with onboard refueling canisters 

were remote or improbable. Battelle also concluded that there 

were few safety differences among any of the systems they studied 

and that cars with refueling canisters were likely to be safer 

than the other cars in the study. 

Also in 1988, the Center for Auto Safety published a study 

concluding that "if anything, the EPA onboard package of fuel 

volatility reductions and...[refueling canisters] will reduce the 

risk of fires in automobiles." 

In summary, STAPPA and ALAPCO strongly believe that given 

the health and environmental benefits, technological 

availability, cost effectiveness and safety of onboard controls, 

regulations requiring these controls must be promulgated. 
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Moreover, given the clear statutory mandate -- requiring only 

consultation with, not the concurrence of, DOT -- EPA's 

regulatory action must take place by November 15, 1991. 

On behalf of STAPPA and ALAPCO, I thank you for this 

opportunity to testify and offer to you the assistance and 

cooperation of the associations as you work to address this 

important issue. 
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POSITION OF THE 

STATE AND TERRITORIAL AIR POLLUTION PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS 

AND THE 

ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL AIR POLLUTION CONTROL OFFICIALS 

ON 

ONBOARD VAPOR RECOVERY 

WHEREAS, evaporative emissions from the refueling of 

motor vehicles contribute to ozone nonattainment and toxic air 

pollution; 

WHEREAS, onboard vapor recovery represents a practical, 

cost-effective and easily enforced means of achieving longterm reductions in evaporative refueling emissions; 

WHEREAS, if implemented, onboard vapor recovery would 

address refueling emissions nationwide; 

WHEREAS, since 1985, the State and Territorial Air 

Pollution Program Administrators (STAPPA) and the Association 

of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (ALAPCO) have urged 

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. 

Congress to adopt and implement requirements for onboard vapor 

recovery; -..-.,. 

WHEREAS, during congressional reauthorization of the 

Clean Air Act, EPA indicated that onboard controls could be 

simple in design and would not represent a danger to public 

safety; and 

WHEREAS, in enacting the Clean Air Act Amendments of 

1990, the U.S. Congress acknowledged the merits of onboard 

vapor recovery by requiring in Section 202 of the amendments 

that "within 1 year of the date of enactment of the Clean Air 

Act Amendments of 1990, the Administrator shall, after 

consultation with the Secretary of Transportation regarding 

the safety of vehicle-based ('onboard') systems for the 

control of vehicle refueling emissions, promulgate standards 

under this section requiring that new light-duty vehicles 

manufactured beginning in the fourth model year after the 

model year in which the standards are promulgated and 

thereafter shall be equipped with such systems;" 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that STAPPA and ALAPCO 

call upon EPA to fulfill its statutory obligation under the 

Clean Air Act by promulgating by November 15, 1991 regulations 

requiring onboard vapor recovery. 

Adopted: September 24, 1991