Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 214 / Friday, November 4, 2011 / Proposed Rules 68381 

EPA is soliciting comment on the 

action discussed in this document. 

These comments will be considered 

before EPA takes final action. Please 

note that if EPA receives adverse 

comment on either of the proposed 

determinations described above and if 

that determination may be severed from 

the remainder of the final agency action, 

EPA may adopt as final these provisions 

of the final agency action that are not 

the subject of an adverse comment. 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

This action proposes to make 

attainment determinations based on air 

quality data and would not, if finalized, 

result in the suspension of certain 

Federal requirements and would not 

impose any additional requirements. 

For that reason, this proposed action: 

• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ subject to review by the Office 

of Management and Budget under 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993); 

• Does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); 

• Is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

• Does not contain any unfunded 

mandate or significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as described 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4); 

• Does not have Federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999); 

• Is not an economically significant 

regulatory action based on health or 

safety risks subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); 

• Is not subject to requirements of 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act; 

and 

• Does not provide EPA with the 

discretionary authority to address, as 

appropriate, disproportionate human 

health or environmental effects, using 

practicable and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

In addition, these proposed PM2.5

NAAQS attainment determinations for 

the Metropolitan Washington and 

Martinsburg-Hagerstown Areas, do not 

have Tribal implications as specified by 

Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 

November 9, 2000), because the SIP is 

not approved to apply in Indian country 

located in the State, and EPA notes that 

it will not impose substantial direct 

costs on Tribal governments or preempt 

Tribal law. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Intergovernmental 

relations, Particulate matter, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Dated: October 25, 2011. 

W.C. Early, 

Acting, Regional Administrator, Region III. 

[FR Doc. 2011–28648 Filed 11–3–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R03–OAR–2011–0605; FRL–9487–2] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; 

Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Clean 

Vehicles Program 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve 

a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

revision submitted by the 

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This 

SIP revision contains Pennsylvania’s 

Clean Vehicle Program, which adopts 

California’s second generation low 

emission vehicle program for light-duty 

vehicles (LEV II). The Clean Air Act 

(CAA) contains specific authority 

allowing any state to adopt new motor 

vehicle emissions standards that are 

identical to California’s standards in 

lieu of applicable Federal standards. 

Pennsylvania has adopted a Clean 

Vehicle Program that incorporates by 

reference provisions of California’s LEV 

II rules and specifies a transition 

mechanism for compliance with these 

clean vehicle standards in 

Pennsylvania. The intended effect of 

this action is to approve, consistent with 

the CAA, a control strategy that will 

help Pennsylvania to achieve and 

maintain attainment of the National 

Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) 

for ozone. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before December 5, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID Number EPA– 

R03–OAR–2011–0605 by one of the 

following methods: 

A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

B. Email: fernandez.cristina@epa.gov. 

C. Mail: EPA–R03–OAR–2011–0605, 

Cristina Fernandez, Associate Director, 

Office of Air Program Planning, 

Mailcode 3AP30, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 

Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

19103. 

D. Hand Delivery: At the previouslylisted EPA Region III address. 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. EPA–R03–OAR–2011– 

0605. 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 email. 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 email comment directly 

to EPA without going through http:// 

www.regulations.gov, your email 

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. 

Docket: All documents in the 

electronic docket are listed in the 

http://www.regulations.gov index. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

i.e., CBI or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 


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Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the Internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy form. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available either electronically in http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy 

during normal business hours at the Air 

Protection Division, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 

Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

19103. Copies of the State submittal are 

available at the Pennsylvania 

Department of Environmental 

Protection, Bureau of Air Quality 

Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market 

Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian Rehn, (215) 814–2176, or by email 

at rehn.brian@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, whenever 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean 

EPA. On May 31, 2007, the 

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 

submitted a revision to its SIP for the 

Pennsylvania Clean Vehicles Program. 

Table of Contents 

I. Description of Pennsylvania’s Clean 

Vehicle Program SIP Revision 

A. Pennsylvania and the Ozone NAAQS 

B. Background on Pennsylvania’s Clean 

Vehicle Program 

1. Pennsylvania’s 1998 Clean Vehicle 

Program Rule and National Low 

Emission Vehicle (NLEV) Opt-In SIP 

Revision 

2. Pennsylvania’s 2007 Clean Vehicle 

Program SIP Revision 

C. What are the relevant EPA and CAA 

requirements? 

D. What is the California LEV II program 

and how does it relate to Pennsylvania’s 

Clean Vehicle Program? 

1. California’s Low Emission Vehicle 

Program 

2. California and Federal Greenhouse Gas 

Standards 

E. What is the history and current content 

of the Pennsylvania Clean Vehicle 

Program? 

II. Proposed EPA Action 

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Description of Pennsylvania’s Clean 

Vehicle Program SIP Revision 

A. Pennsylvania and the Ozone NAAQS 

Under the Clean Air Act (CAA) 

Amendments of 1990, Pennsylvania had 

thirty-three counties designated 

nonattainment under the former 1-hour 

ozone NAAQS. These thirty-three 

counties were divided into twenty-four 

separate nonattainment areas, with 

ozone attainment deadlines varying by 

area. There were twelve additional 

Pennsylvania counties that were 

designated nonattainment, but that had 

incomplete monitoring data to classify 

them under the former 1-hour ozone 

standard. Of the twenty-four 1-hour 

ozone NAAQS nonattainment areas 

(with classifications ranging from 

marginal to severe-15), two were 

redesignated to attainment prior to the 

revocation of the 1-hour ozone standard 

on June 15, 2005, per 40 CFR 50.9(b). 

On June 15, 2004, thirty-seven 

counties in Pennsylvania were 

designated nonattainment with respect 

to the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS, and 

classified as part of seventeen separate 

nonattainment areas. Of these, all but 

two of these areas have been 

redesignated to attainment and are 

currently maintenance areas. The 

exceptions are the Pittsburgh and the 

multi-state Philadelphia-WilmingtonAtlantic City, PA-NJ-MD-DE 

nonattainment areas, which continue to 

be nonattainment. 

B. Background on Pennsylvania’s Clean 

Vehicle Program 

1. Pennsylvania’s 1998 Clean Vehicle 

Program Rule and NLEV Opt-In SIP 

Revision 

The Commonwealth adopted 

emissions control measures to address 

the ozone NAAQS, one of which was 

the NLEV program. The NLEV program 

was a voluntary framework agreement 

between EPA, vehicle manufacturers, 

and the states. In 1998, EPA adopted an 

NLEV rule to formalize this agreement 

whereby vehicle manufacturers would 

comply with a 49-state standard that 

was more stringent than the federal 

motor vehicle standards that were in 

effect at that time (referred to as the Tier 

1 standards). NLEV took effect only after 

all auto manufacturers and a sufficient 

number of states opted to participate, 

upon which time EPA issued a finding 

that the NLEV program was in effect on 

March 2, 1998 (63 FR 11374). 

Pennsylvania, and eight other 

Northeast Ozone Transport Commission 

(OTC) states that opted to participate in 

the NLEV program, subsequently 

formalized their participation in the 

NLEV program by submitting NLEV 

program ‘‘opt-in’’ SIPs to EPA. 

Pennsylvania adopted the NLEV 

program as part of its Clean Vehicle 

Program rule on December 5, 1998 (28 

Pa.B. 5873). Under Pennsylvania’s 

December 1998 Clean Vehicle Program 

rule, the Commonwealth adopted 

California’s Low Emission Vehicle 

Program (California LEV) under the 

authority of section 177 of the CAA. 

This CAA provision allows states to 

adopt vehicle emissions standards 

identical to California’s, provided EPA 

has granted California a waiver for those 

standards and that the state adopting 

California’s standards provides at least 

two years lead time before the model 

year the standards take effect. 

Pennsylvania’s Clean Vehicle Program 

rule incorporated by reference 

California’s first generation Low 

Emission Vehicle (LEV) program, but 

allowed NLEV to serve as a compliance 

alternative to the California LEV 

program. 

Pennsylvania’s December 1998 Clean 

Vehicle Program rule incorporated by 

reference California’s first generation 

LEV standards (adopted by California in 

1991, and also known as LEV I 

standards) for passenger cars and light 

trucks, but did not incorporate by 

reference California’s Zero Emission 

Vehicle (ZEV) provisions or emissions 

control warranty systems statement 

provisions. 

Pennsylvania submitted its Clean 

Vehicle Program (adopted in 1998) as an 

NLEV opt-in SIP submitted to EPA on 

January 8, 1999. EPA had granted a 

Federal preemption waiver to California 

for its LEV I standards on January 13, 

1993 (58 FR 4166). EPA issued a direct 

final rule to approve that Pennsylvania 

Clean Vehicle Program SIP revision on 

December 28, 1999 (64 FR 72564). 

The NLEV program, under the 

framework established in EPA’s NLEV 

final rule, extended until model year 

2006, unless EPA issued more stringent 

federal standards under the CAA. Since 

EPA issued more stringent Tier 2 

Federal vehicle emission standards on 

February 10, 2000 (65 FR 6698), which 

were in effect beginning with the 2004 

model year. Per the NLEV framework, 

Federal Tier 2 standards superseded 

NLEV standards in model year 2004— 

for those states that had not opted into 

the California LEV program under the 

authority of section 177 of the CAA. 

California also revised its LEV Program 

rules in 1996, with a second generation 

program referred to as LEV II, effective 

on model year 2004 and newer 

California cars. EPA granted a Federal 

preemption waiver for California’s LEV 

II program on April 22, 2003 (68 FR 

19811). 

2. Pennsylvania’s 2007 Clean Vehicle 

Program SIP Revision 

Pennsylvania adopted its revised 

Clean Vehicles Program rule and 

published it as a final rule in December 

9, 2006 edition of the Pennsylvania 

Bulletin (36 Pa.B. 7424). 

On May 31, 2007, Pennsylvania 

submitted a SIP revision to EPA seeking 

Federal approval of its revised Clean 

Vehicle Program. 

Pennsylvania’s revised Clean Vehicle 

Program rule was meant to formalize the 

cessation of the NLEV program, to delay 


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the start date for the Pennsylvania Clean 

Vehicle Program from model year 2006 

to model year 2008, to make changes to 

the Clean Vehicle Program to reflect 

post-1998 changes made by California to 

their program (since Pennsylvania first 

adopted California’s LEV program by 

reference), and to specify a 3-year early 

credit earning period within which 

vehicle manufacturers could comply 

with the program’s fleet average nonmethane organic gases (NMOG) 

requirements. 

Specifically, Pennsylvania’s revised 

Clean Vehicle Program final rule made 

the following changes: 

(a) Amended section 126.412(a) to 

postpone the date by which subject 

Pennsylvania vehicles must comply 

with the California Air Resources Board 

(CARB) certification to model year 

2008); 

(b) Amended section 126.412(b) to 

change the first model year for which 

compliance by manufacturers with the 

NMOG fleetwide average is required to 

model year 2008; 

(c) Removed reference in section 

126.412(d) to continue the exclusion of 

the California ZEV program from the 

prior Pennsylvania Clean Vehicles 

Program, since CARB moved those ZEV 

provisions from the section of 

California’s rule previously referenced 

therein; 

(d) Deleted provisions in chapter 126 

related to the cessation of the NLEV 

program; 

(e) Added and removed several 

definitions in chapter 121 to reference 

the California LEV program rather than 

the NLEV program, due to cessation of 

the NLEV program; 

(f) Revised section 126.411(a) to 

include vehicles titled in the 

Commonwealth, rather than those 

offered for sale, lease, import, rented, 

delivered, purchased, acquired, or 

registered in the Commonwealth. 

(g) Revised section 126.411 to update 

cross-references to reflect changes made 

by California to its LEV rule with 

respect to California’s ZEV program, in 

order to continue to exclude California’s 

ZEV program from Pennsylvania’s Clean 

Vehicle Program; 

(h) Revised section 126.412(d) to 

specify a 3-year early-credit earning 

period (between model year 2008 to 

2010) within which manufacturers were 

to comply with the NMOG fleet average; 

(i) Revised section 126.413(a)(2) to 

allow a vehicle dealer to transfer a nonCARB certified new vehicle as long as 

the vehicle will not ultimately be sold 

in Pennsylvania as a new vehicle; 

(j) Revised section 126.413(a)(6) to 

add clarification language regarding 

applicability (in accordance with the 

rules of the International Registration 

Plan) to vehicles ‘‘held for daily lease or 

rental to the general public which are 

registered and principally operated 

outside the Commonwealth;’’ 

(k) Revised section 126.413(a)(11) to 

conform the model year cutoff for 

compliance with the program to the 

model year 2008 program start date for 

CARB certification and NMOG fleet 

average requirements; 

(l) Added paragraph 13 to section 

126.413(a) to exempt vehicles 

transferred for the purpose of salvage, to 

allow salvage operations in 

Pennsylvania to accept salvaged new 

motor vehicles that do not have CARB 

certification; 

(m) Revised section 126.413(b) to 

require a person seeking to title or 

register an exempted vehicle to provide 

satisfactory evidence that the exemption 

is applicable; 

(n) Revised sections 126.421(b), 

126.422(b), 126.423(b), 126.424(b), and 

126.425(b), with respect to new motor 

vehicle testing provisions, to require 

vehicle manufacturers to provide CARB 

testing determinations and findings to 

the Pennsylvania Department of 

Environmental Protection (PA DEP) 

upon request; 

(o) Revised section 126.431(b) to 

allow a vehicle manufacturer to submit 

to the PA DEP (when requested in 

writing) copies of the reports the 

manufacturer submitted to CARB for 

purposes of compliance with respect to 

this subsection of Pennsylvania’s rule; 

(p) Added paragraph (c) to section 

126.431 to clarify that any voluntary or 

influenced emissions-related recall 

campaign initiated by a vehicle 

manufacturer under California’s LEV 

program shall extend to vehicles 

covered by the Pennsylvania Clean 

Vehicle Program, except where the 

manufacturer demonstrates to the 

satisfaction of PA DEP in writing 

(within 30 days of CARB’s approval of 

the campaign) that said campaign is not 

applicable to vehicles sold in 

Pennsylvania; 

(q) Added paragraph (d) to section 

126.432 providing that recalls prompted 

by a CARB order or an enforcement 

action taken by CARB to correct 

noncompliance by a vehicle 

manufacturer shall extend to vehicles 

covered by the Pennsylvania Clean 

Vehicles Program, except where the 

manufacturer demonstrates to the 

satisfaction of PA DEP in writing 

(within 30 days of CARB’s approval of 

the campaign) that said campaign is not 

applicable to vehicles sold in 

Pennsylvania; 

(r) Revised section 126.432(a), 

changing the start date (to model year 

2008) when each vehicle manufacturer 

must begin to submit to the PA DEP an 

annual report on vehicle deliveries of 

each ‘‘test group’’ for the latest model 

year; 

(s) Revised section 126.441 restating 

the prohibition on new vehicle dealers 

from selling, offering for sale or lease, or 

delivering a vehicle subject to 

Pennsylvania’s program unless it has 

received the requisite CARB 

certification; and 

(t) Added section 126.451 requiring 

the PA DEP to monitor CARB 

rulemaking actions on the California 

LEV program, to submit comments on 

such CARB rulemakings, and to apprise 

the Pennsylvania Environmental 

Quality Board of proposed changes to 

California’s LEV program. 

C. What are the relevant EPA and CAA 

requirements? 

Section 209(a) of the CAA prohibits 

states from adopting or enforcing 

standards relating to the control of 

emissions from new motor vehicles or 

new motor vehicle engines. However, 

under section 209(b) of the CAA, EPA 

may grant a waiver of the section 209(a) 

prohibition to any state that adopted its 

own vehicle emission standards prior to 

March 30, 1966. As California is the 

only state to meet this test, California is 

thereby granted authority under this 

section to adopt its own motor vehicle 

emissions standards. Section 209(b) of 

the CAA requires California to show 

that its newly adopted standards will be 

‘‘* * * in the aggregate, at least as 

protective of public health and welfare 

as applicable Federal standards. * * *’’ 

Section 209(b) further provides that EPA 

will grant a waiver to California for such 

standards unless it finds that: (1) The 

State’s determination is ‘‘arbitrary and 

capricious,’’ (2) the State ‘‘does not need 

such State standards to meet compelling 

and extraordinary conditions,’’ or (3) the 

State’s standards and accompanying 

enforcement procedures are ‘‘not 

consistent’’ with CAA section 202(a). 

Section 177 of the CAA allows other 

states to adopt and enforce California’s 

standards relating to the control of 

emissions from new motor vehicles, 

provided that, among other things, such 

state standards are identical to the 

California standards for which a waiver 

has been granted under CAA section 

209(b). In addition, section 177 of the 

CAA requires that a state choosing to 

adopt California standards must do so at 

least two years prior to the 

commencement of the model year to 

which the standards will apply. 

Pennsylvania has met the requirements 

of section 177. 


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D. What is the California LEV II program 

and how does it relate to Pennsylvania’s 

Clean Vehicle Program? 

1. California’s Low Emission Vehicle 

Program 

CARB adopted the first generation 

LEV I regulations in 1990, which were 

effective through the 2003 model year. 

CARB adopted California’s second 

generation LEV II regulations in August 

1999. On February 10, 2000, EPA 

adopted its Tier 2 Federal motor vehicle 

standards rule (65 FR 6698). In 

December 2000, CARB modified the 

LEV II program to take advantage of 

some elements of the Federal Tier 2 

regulations to ensure that only the 

cleanest vehicle models would continue 

to be sold in California. EPA granted 

California a waiver for its LEV II 

program on April 22, 2003 (68 FR 

19811). 

In 2006, CARB adopted technical 

amendments to its LEV II program that 

amend the evaporative emission test 

procedures, onboard refueling vapor 

recovery and spitback test procedures, 

exhaust emission test procedures, and 

vehicle emission control label 

requirements. These technical 

amendments align each of California’s 

test procedures and label requirements 

with its Federal counterpart, in an effort 

to streamline and harmonize the 

California and Federal programs and to 

reduce manufacturer testing burdens 

and increase in-use compliance. On July 

30, 2010, EPA published a notice in the 

Federal Register confirming that 

CARB’s 2006 technical amendments are 

within-the-scope of existing waivers of 

preemption for CARB’s LEV II program. 

Under California’s LEV II program, 

each vehicle manufacturer must show 

that their overall fleet for a given model 

year meets the specified phase-in 

requirements according to the fleet 

average non-methane hydrocarbon 

requirement for that year. The fleet 

average non-methane hydrocarbon 

emission limits become progressively 

lower each model year. The LEV II 

program requires auto manufactures to 

include a ‘‘smog index’’ label on each 

vehicle sold, which is intended to 

inform consumers about the amount of 

pollution coming from that vehicle 

relative to other vehicles. 

In addition to the LEV II 

requirements, California requires that 

minimum percentages of passenger cars 

and the lightest light-duty trucks 

marketed in California by a large or 

intermediate volume manufacturer to be 

ZEVs, referred to as a ZEV mandate. 

Pennsylvania did not incorporate 

California’s ZEV provisions into the 

Pennsylvania Clean Vehicle Program. 

EPA concluded in its OTC LEV 

Program for the Northeast Transport 

Region final rule, published in the 

January 24, 1995 Federal Register (60 

FR 4712), that states adopting a CAA 

section 177 program need not adopt 

California’s ZEV requirements to 

comply with the CAA requirements 

under section 177 for identical 

standards. Section 177 of the CAA does 

not require adoption of all California 

LEV program standards. However, if a 

state adopts California vehicle 

standards, those standards must be 

identical to California standards for 

which California has been granted a 

waiver of preemption by EPA. 

2. California and Federal Greenhouse 

Gas Standards 

On October 15, 2005, California 

amended its rules to add regulatory 

provisions for greenhouse gas related 

emissions from new cars and trucks. 

Specifically, California’s greenhouse gas 

standards require manufacturers to 

comply with fleet average emission 

standards for emissions of carbon 

dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, 

hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, 

and sulfur hexafluoride on new 

passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and 

medium-duty passenger vehicles sold in 

California. California approved 

regulations to reduce greenhouse gas 

emissions from passenger vehicles in 

September 2004, effective beginning 

with model year 2009. CARB adopted a 

new approach, combining for the first 

time the control of smog-causing 

pollutants and greenhouse gas 

emissions into a single coordinated 

package of standards. After initially 

denying California’s request for a waiver 

of CAA preemption, EPA later granted 

California the authority to implement 

greenhouse gas emission reduction 

standards in a waiver published in the 

July 8, 2009 edition of the Federal 

Register (74 FR 32744). 

EPA and the National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA) 

subsequently issued a joint final rule in 

the May 7, 2010 Federal Register (75 FR 

25324) establishing a national program 

for greenhouse gas standards and 

improved fuel economy for model year 

2012 to 2016 light-duty vehicles, 

coupled with improved fuel economy. 

This joint rule stemmed from a National 

Fuel Economy Policy announced by 

President Obama on May 19, 2009. The 

joint rule represents a harmonized 

approach, allowing automobile 

manufacturers to build a single lightduty national fleet. 

On September 24, 2009, CARB 

adopted amendments to its passenger 

vehicles greenhouse gas standards (for 

model year 2009 through 2016 vehicles) 

to harmonize Federal and California 

greenhouse gas rules and to provide 

vehicle manufacturers with new 

compliance flexibility. CARB will now 

also allow California and other states 

that have adopted California’s 

greenhouse gas standard to pool car 

sales for purposes of compliance, rather 

than on a state-by-state basis for 

compliance. This was the final step in 

an agreement between the EPA and 

NHTSA, California, and the automobile 

manufacturers, fulfilling President 

Obama’s May 19, 2009 announcement. 

Pennsylvania’s Clean Vehicle Program 

rule adopts by reference CARB’s 

greenhouse light-duty vehicle emissions 

standard provisions set forth in Title 13 

California Code of Regulations (CCR), 

Division 3, Chapter 1. Under 

Pennsylvania’s Clean Vehicle Rule, a 

manufacturer or dealer is deemed 

compliant if a vehicle offered for sale in 

Pennsylvania is CARB-certified and is 

properly labeled as such. 

E. What is the history and current 

content of the Pennsylvania Clean 

Vehicle Program? 

On December 5, 1998 (28 Pa.B. 5873), 

Pennsylvania adopted the Pennsylvania 

Clean Vehicles Program, which 

incorporated California’s LEV program 

by reference. The December 1998 rule 

adopted NLEV as a compliance 

alternative to the Pennsylvania Clean 

Vehicles Program (for the duration of 

the NLEV program). 

The NLEV program was a voluntary 

agreement between EPA, vehicle 

manufacturers, and the states to 

introduce vehicles that met emission 

standards that were more stringent than 

the Federal Tier 1 standards in effect at 

the time. The NLEV program only took 

effect after all auto manufacturers and a 

sufficient number of states voluntarily 

‘‘opted-in’’ to the program. Once the 

opt-ins were complete, EPA made a 

NLEV in-effect finding on March 2, 1998 

(63 FR 11374). Participating Northeast 

states then submitted SIP revisions to 

ensure continuation of the program. 

Pennsylvania submitted its NLEV SIP 

revision on January 8, 1999. EPA issued 

a direct final rule to approve 

Pennsylvania’s NLEV program (with the 

Pennsylvania Clean Vehicles Program as 

a backstop to NLEV) on December 28, 

1999 (64 FR 72564). 

On December 9, 2006, Pennsylvania 

amended its Clean Vehicles Program to 

be identical to update its rule to reflect 

California’s LEV II program; to postpone 

compliance with California LEV II 

provisions of the rule from model year 

2006 to model year 2008; to make 

clarifications and updates to 


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Pennsylvania’s Clean Vehicles Program; 

and to specify a transition mechanism to 

the California LEV provisions. 

Pennsylvania has adopted California’s 

LEV II program by incorporating by 

reference portions of the California LEV 

II regulations (i.e., Title 13 California 

Code of Regulations, Division 3, 

Chapters 1 and 2) into the Pennsylvania 

Code. 

Pennsylvania submitted a SIP revision 

to EPA requesting that EPA approve 

Pennsylvania’s Clean Vehicle Program 

regulations as part of the Pennsylvania 

SIP. EPA’s approval would make the 

program Federally enforceable through 

the SIP. 

II. Proposed EPA Action 

EPA is proposing to approve the 

Pennsylvania Clean Vehicle Program 

SIP revision, which was submitted on 

May 31, 2007. EPA is soliciting public 

comments on the issues discussed in 

this document. These comments will be 

considered before taking final action. 

III. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Under the CAA, the Administrator is 

required to approve a SIP submission 

that complies with the provisions of the 

CAA and applicable Federal regulations. 

42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR section 

52.02(a). Thus, in reviewing SIP 

submissions, EPA’s role is to approve 

state choices, provided that they meet 

the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, 

this action merely proposes to approve 

state law as meeting Federal 

requirements and does not impose 

additional requirements beyond those 

imposed by state law. For that reason, 

this proposed action: 

• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ subject to review by the Office 

of Management and Budget under 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993); 

• Does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); 

• Is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

• Does not contain any unfunded 

mandate or significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as described 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4); 

• Does not have federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999); 

• Is not an economically significant 

regulatory action based on health or 

safety risks subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); 

• Is not subject to requirements of 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the CAA; and 

• Does not provide EPA with the 

discretionary authority to address, as 

appropriate, disproportionate human 

health or environmental effects, using 

practicable and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

In addition, this proposed rule to 

approve the Pennsylvania Clean Vehicle 

Program as part of the Pennsylvania SIP 

does not have Tribal implications as 

specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because 

the SIP is not approved to apply in 

Indian country located in the state, and 

EPA notes that it will not impose 

substantial direct costs on Tribal 

governments or preempt Tribal law. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Dated: October 25, 2011. 

W.C. Early, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region III. 

[FR Doc. 2011–28653 Filed 11–3–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R06–OAR–2007–0154; FRL–9487–1] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans; New Mexico; 

Albuquerque/Bernalillo County; Fees 

for Permits and Administrative Actions 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing an approval 

of revisions which repeal and replace 

existing rules, and revisions to the 

applicable State Implementation Plan 

(SIP) for New Mexico Albuquerque/ 

Bernalillo County, which relate to fee 

requirement regulations. The repeal and 

replace and SIP revisions proposed 

today would address section 110(a)(2) 

Clean Air Act (the Act or CAA) 

requirements related to fees for, in part, 

reviewing and acting on specific permit 

applications received by the City of 

Albuquerque/Bernalillo County 

Environmental Health Department (EHD 

or Department); fees to partially offset 

the administrative cost of permit-related 

administrative hearings; funding for 

small business stationary sources; and 

fees to cover administrative expenses 

incurred by the Department in 

implementing the New Mexico Air 

Quality Control Act, the joint Air 

Quality Control Board (AQCB) 

ordinances, and the Albuquerque/ 

Bernalillo County AQCB regulations of 

the New Mexico Statutes Annotated 

(NMSA) 1978. EPA finds that these 

rules and revisions comply with 

applicable provisions of the CAA and is 

proposing to approve them into the SIP. 

This action is being proposed under 

section 110 of the Act. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 5, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R06– 

OAR–2007–0154 by one of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• U.S. EPA Region 6 ‘‘Contact Us’’ 

Web site: http://epa.gov/region6/ 

r6coment.htm. Please click on ‘‘6PD’’ 

(Multimedia) and select ‘‘Air’’ before 

submitting comments. 

• Email: Ms. Ashley Mohr at 

mohr.ashley@epa.gov. 

• Fax: Ms. Ashley Mohr, Air Permits 

Section (6PD–R), at fax number (214) 

665–6762. 

• Mail: Ashley Mohr, Air Permits 

Section (6PD–R), Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, 

Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202–2733. 

• Hand or Courier Delivery: Ashley 

Mohr, Air Permits Section (6PD–R), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 

Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 

75202–2733. Such deliveries are 

accepted only between the hours of 8 

a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays except for 

legal holidays. Special arrangements 

should be made for deliveries of boxed 

information. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–R06–OAR–2007– 

0154. 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 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS