State of California

AIR RESOURCES BOARD

Resolution 03-19

July 24, 2003

Agenda Item No.: 03-6-3

WHEREAS, sections 39600 and 39601 of the Health and Safety Code authorize the

Air Resources Board (ARB or the Board) to adopt standards, rules and regulations

and to do such acts as may be necessary for the proper execution of the powers and

duties granted to and imposed upon the Board by law;

WHEREAS, section 43013 of the Health and Safety Code authorizes the Board to

adopt standards and regulations to control emissions from off-road or non-vehicle

engine categories;

WHEREAS, in section 43000 of the Health and Safety Code, the Legislature has

declared that the emission of air pollutants from motor vehicles is the primary cause

of air pollution in many parts of the state and, in sections 39002 and 39003 of the

Health and Safety Code, has charged the Board with the responsibility of

systematically addressing the serious air pollution problem caused by motor

vehicles;

WHEREAS, sections 43013, 43101, and 43104 of the Health and Safety Code

authorize the Board to adopt motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance

standards, and test procedures, which it finds to be necessary, cost-effective, and

technologically feasible;

WHEREAS, section 43018 of the Health and Safety Code directs the Board to

endeavor to achieve the maximum degree of emission reduction possible from

vehicular and other mobile sources to accomplish the attainment of state ambient air

quality standards by the earliest practicable date;

WHEREAS, in January 1994 the Board adopted title 13, California Code of

Regulations, Division 3, Chapter 9, Article 3, “Off-Highway Recreational Vehicles

and Engines” and its incorporated documents, which established exhaust emission

standards, test procedures, and enforcement provisions for Off-Highway

Recreational Vehicles and Engines (OHRV);

WHEREAS, in December 1998 the Board adopted amendments to the OHRV

Regulations, which, as amended (OHRV Regulations), provided for a nonemissions-compliant certification and restricted riding seasons for OHRVs so

certified;
Resolution 03-19 2

WHEREAS, the OHRV Regulations apply to OHRVs including off-road motorcycles

and ATVs with engines greater than 90 cubic centimeters produced on or after

January 1, 1997, and to off-road motorcycles and ATVs with engines 90 cubic

centimeters or less produced on or after January 1, 1999;

WHEREAS, the State Implementation Plan (SIP) adopted by the Board in November

1994, which establishes the state strategy for attaining the national ambient air

quality standards for ozone in all areas of the state by 2010 as required by federal

law, includes the emissions reductions associated with the OHRV Regulations;

WHEREAS, federal regulation of OHRVs will not begin phasing in until 2006;

WHEREAS, to receive a green sticker from California’s Department of Motor

Vehicles (DMV) at registration, OHRVs must comply with the OHRV Regulations

including the exhaust emission standards set forth therein; properly green-stickered

vehicles are not subject to riding season limitations in California Off-Highway Vehicle

(OHV) riding areas;

WHEREAS, OHRVs certified as non-compliant under the OHRV Regulations do not

meet the exhaust emission standards set forth therein; these vehicles receive a red

sticker from DMV at registration and can only be operated in California OHV riding

areas during designated riding seasons as listed in title 13, California Code of

Regulations (13 CCR), section 2415, table 1;

WHEREAS, beginning in 1998, DMV used a non-automated registration system to

register OHRVs. That system, in addition to some miscoded OHRVs reaching

California, caused inconsistencies in OHRV registrations. These inconsistencies

have resulted in the registration of some non-emissions-compliant OHRVs with

green stickers and some emissions-compliant OHRVs registered with red stickers;

WHEREAS, in June of this year DMV automated its registration system to ensure

correct OHRV registration;

WHEREAS, California’s Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and other land

management agencies enforce the riding seasons based on sticker color. To date,

DPR has not enforced the riding seasons on OHRV owners or operators due to

inconsistencies in DMV registration. As a result of the recent improvements and

DMV automation of the OHRV registration system, DPR has committed to enforce

the riding season limitations beginning in 2003;

WHEREAS, ARB staff met with DMV and DPR staff to determine the best way to

modify the regulation and achieve an enforceable program. The proposed

amendment to the OHRV Regulation will facilitate enforcement of the riding season

requirement of the regulation and specifically the 1998 OHRV Amendments;

WHEREAS, the proposed amendment will modify the OHRV Regulations to indicate

that riding season use restrictions (i.e., restrictions on red-stickered OHRV

operation) begin with 2003 model year vehicles. The amendment simply reflects the

delay in riding season enforcement that occurred in the field;
Resolution 03-19 3

WHEREAS, certified emission-compliant OHRVs will continue to be eligible to

receive green stickers upon DMV registration, which will allow them to continue to be

operated year-round in all OHV areas;

WHEREAS, the proposed amendment will allow certified emission-non-compliant

OHRVs model year 1998-2002 to receive green stickers upon DMV registration or

renewal, which will permit them to continue operating year-round in all OHV areas;

WHEREAS, the proposed amendment reflects that certified emission-non-compliant

OHRVs model year 2003 and newer will receive red stickers upon DMV registration,

which will ensure enforcement of the prohibition on operating these vehicles in

California OHV riding areas outside designated riding seasons as set forth in

13 CCR, section 2415, table 1;

WHEREAS, the proposed amendment will ensure full implementation of the OHRV

Regulations and will achieve the intended emissions reductions from OHRV

prospectively;

WHEREAS, the California Environmental Quality Act and Board regulations require

that no project which may have significant adverse environmental impacts be

adopted as originally proposed if feasible alternatives or mitigation measures are

available to reduce or eliminate such impacts;

WHEREAS, the Board has considered the impact of this proposed regulatory action

on the economy of the state;

WHEREAS, the Board must find that no alternative considered would be more

effective, or equally effective and less costly, in achieving the regulatory objectives

sought than the proposed regulations;

WHEREAS, section 209(e) of the federal Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990,

requires that the ARB receive authorization from the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency Administrator to adopt and enforce standards relating to the control of

emissions from non-road engines or vehicles;

WHEREAS, the proposed amendments will not change the existing exhaust

emission standards adopted in 1994 or any of the certification and related

requirements of the regulation;

WHEREAS, a public hearing and other administrative proceedings have been held

in accordance with the provisions of chapter 3.5 (commencing with section 11340),

part 1, division 3, title 2 of the Government Code;

WHEREAS, the administrative procedures described immediately above require

public involvement before state agencies propose regulations that are complex or

numerous;
Resolution 03-19 4

WHEREAS, in consideration of the Initial Statement of Reasons, written comments,

and public testimony it has received, the Board finds that:

Despite advances in reducing emissions from motor vehicles, California still

has the most severe air pollution problems in the United States;

To meet federal and California Clean Air Act emissions reduction

requirements, ARB must continue to achieve proportional and incremental

reductions from all sources under its authority, including OHRVs;

The economic and cost impacts of the amendments have been analyzed as

required by California law, and the conclusions for this analysis are set forth

in the Initial Statement of Reasons;

California regulation of OHRVs differing from federal regulation is authorized

by law, and the cost of differing state regulations continues to be justified by

the benefit to human health, public welfare, and the environment;

No reasonable alternative considered would be more effective, or equally

effective and less costly, in achieving the emission reductions enabled by the

proposed amendment;

No public involvement pre-proposal was necessary because the proposed

amendments were neither complex nor numerous; this is a simple

amendment that merely acknowledges a delay in implementing existing

regulations that has already occurred;

WHEREAS, pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act

and the Board's regulations, the Board further finds that:

Based on its independent judgement and analysis of the whole record before

it, composed of all materials in the rulemaking record that is available at the

Board's offices, the proposed amendment will not have a significant effect on

the environment. The proposed amendments will not cause an emission

increase or decrease different from that anticipated by the current OHRV

Regulations.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board hereby adopts amendments

to title 13, California Code of Regulations, division 3, chapter 9, article 3, “OffHighway Recreational Vehicles and Engines,” section 2415 (a), as set forth in

Attachment A hereto.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board hereby determines that the regulations

adopted herein will not cause the California emissions standards, in the aggregate,

to be less protective of public health and welfare than applicable federal standards.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board hereby finds that separate California

emission standards and test procedures are necessary to meet compelling and

extraordinary conditions.
Resolution 03-19 5

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board finds that the California emission

standards and test procedures as adopted herein will not cause the California

requirements to be inconsistent with the federal Clean Air Act, as amended, and

raise no new issues affecting previous waiver determinations of the Administrator of

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to section 209 of the Clean Air

Act.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Officer shall, upon adoption,

forward the regulations to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with a request

for confirmation that the regulations are within the scope of an existing waiver of

federal preemption, or if necessary seek a new waiver, pursuant to section 209 of

the Clean Air Act.

I hereby certify that the above is a true and

correct copy of Resolution 03-17, as

adopted by the Air Resources Board.

______________________________

Alexa Malik, Clerk of the Board
Resolution 03-19

July 24, 2003

Identification of Attachment to the Resolution

Attachment A: Proposed Amendments to the Off-Highway Recreational Vehicles

and Engines (OHRV) Regulation, as set forth in Appendix A to the

Staff Report (released June 6, 2003).