88908 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 26, 2023 / Notices 

2023, which inadvertently included the 

incorrect year. 

DATES: December 26, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPP–2023–0474, 

through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 

at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the online instructions for submitting 

comments. Do not submit electronically 

any information you consider to be 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Additional 

instructions on commenting and visiting 

the docket, along with more information 

about dockets generally, is available at 

https://www.epa.gov/dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Catherine Aubee, Endocrine Disruptor 

Screening Program (7505T), Office of 

Pesticide Programs, Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460–0001; 

main telephone number: (202) 566– 

1030; email address: 

pesticidequestions@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To give 

stakeholders additional time to review 

materials and prepare comments, EPA 

extended the comment period 

established in the Federal Register 

document of October 27, 2023, at 88 FR 

73841 (FRL–11384–01–OCSPP) for 60 

days, from December 26, 2023. 

However, the extended comment period 

date established in the Federal Register 

document of December 14, 2023, at 88 

FR 86644 (FRL–11384–02–OCSPP), was 

incorrectly stated as February 26, 2023. 

This notice corrects the comment period 

date to February 26, 2024. More 

information on the action can be found 

in the Federal Register of October 27, 

2023. 

Correction 

In the Federal Register of December 

14, 2023, in FR Doc. 2023–27405, on 

page 86644, in the first column, correct 

the DATES caption to read: 

DATES: The comment period for the 

document published in the Federal 

Register of October 27, 2023, at 88 FR 

73841 (FRL–11384–01–OCSPP) is 

extended. Comments must be received 

on or before February 26, 2024. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq. and 21 

U.S.C. 346a. 

Dated: December 20, 2023. 

Angela Hofmann, 

Director, Regulatory Support Branch, Mission 

Support Division, Office of Program Support, 

Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 

Prevention. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28510 Filed 12–22–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2023–0292; FRL–11010–01– 

OAR] 

California State Motor Vehicle 

Pollution Control Standards; Advanced 

Clean Cars II Regulations; Request for 

Waiver of Preemption; Opportunity for 

Public Hearing and Public Comment 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of opportunity for public 

hearing and comment. 

SUMMARY: The California Air Resources 

Board (CARB) has notified the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

that it has adopted regulations 

applicable to new 2026 and subsequent 

model year (MY) California on-road 

light- and medium-duty vehicles, 

hereinafter the Advanced Clean Cars II 

(ACC II) regulations. The ACC II 

regulations include two sets of 

requirements, one for conventional 

vehicles powered by internal 

combustion engines and one for zeroemission vehicles (with plug-in hybrid 

electric vehicles subject to both sets). By 

letter dated May 22, 2023, CARB 

submitted a request that EPA grant a 

waiver of preemption under section 

209(b) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for 

the ACC II regulations. This notice 

announces that EPA has scheduled a 

public hearing concerning California’s 

request and that EPA is accepting 

written comment on the request. 

DATES: 

Comments. Comments must be 

received on or before the date of 

February 27, 2024. 

Public Hearing: EPA will hold a 

virtual public hearing on January 10, 

2024. If necessary, an additional session 

may be held virtually on January 11, 

2024, to accommodate the number of 

testifiers that sign-up to testify. Please 

refer to the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section for additional information 

regarding the public hearing and 

registration. Additional information 

regarding the virtual public hearing and 

this action can be found at: https://

www.epa.gov/regulations-emissionsvehicles-and-engines/virtual-publichearing-californias-advanced-clean-car. 

ADDRESSES: 

Comments. You may submit your 

comments, identified by Docket ID No. 

EPA–HQ–OAR–2023–0292, by one of 

the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov (our preferred 

method). Follow the online instructions 

for submitting comments. 

• Email: a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov. 

Include Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR– 

2023–0292 in the subject line of the 

message. 

• Mail: U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, 

Air Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, 

DC 20460. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: EPA 

Docket Center, WJC West Building, 

Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket 

Center’s hours of operation are 8:30 

a.m.–4:30 p.m., Monday–Friday (except 

Federal Holidays). 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the Docket ID No. for this 

action. Comments received may be 

posted without change to https://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. For the 

full EPA public comment policy, 

information about confidential business 

information (CBI) or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

http://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

Public hearing. The virtual public 

hearing will be held on January 10, 

2024. If necessary, an additional session 

may be held on January 11, 2024, to 

accommodate the number of testifiers 

that sign-up to testify. The hearing will 

begin each day at 10:00 a.m. Eastern 

Time (ET) and end when all parties who 

wish to speak have had an opportunity 

to do so. All hearing attendees 

(including even those who do not 

intend to provide testimony) should 

register for the public hearing by 

January 4, 2024. Information on how to 

register can be found at https://

www.epa.gov/regulations-emissionsvehicles-and-engines/virtual-publichearing-californias-advanced-clean-car. 

Additional information regarding the 

hearing appears below under 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Dickinson, Office of 

Transportation and Air Quality, (6405J), 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 

Washington, DC 20460, Email: 

Dickinson.David@epa.gov. Telephone: 

(202) 343–9256. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. CARB’s Waiver Request 

CARB’s May 22, 2023, letter to the 

EPA Administrator notified EPA that 

CARB had finalized its ACC II 

regulations. The ACC II regulations, 

adopted by the Board on August 25, 

2022 (approved by California’s Office of 

Administrative Law (OAL) and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 26, 2023 / Notices 88909 

1The ACC II regulatory text can be found in 

Attachment 7 to CARB’s May 22, 2023, ACC II 

waiver request (the ACC II Waiver Support 

Document) found at EPA–HQ–OAR–2023–0292). 

The specific regulatory provisions under EPA’s 

waiver consideration can be found at footnote 36 to 

the ACC II Waiver Support Document. 

2Cold starts occur when the vehicle engine is 

started after the vehicle has been shut-off for a 

period of time. 

3The ZEV sales percentages for each vehicle 

manufacturer are based on their respective fleet 

sales in a given model year. 

4Letter from Steven S. Cliff, CARB, dated May 22, 

2023, EPA–HQ–OAR–2023–0292. The ACC II 

Waiver Support Document, attached to the letter 

from Mr. Cliff, are both available at EPA–HQ–OAR– 

2023–0292. 

5The ACC II Waiver Support Document provides 

a summary of the adopted regulations, a brief 

history of similar regulations, and an analysis of the 

adopted regulation under the waiver criteria in 

section 209(b)(1) of the CAA. 

6ACC II Waiver Support Document at 28–35. 

7 Id. at 35–44. 

8 Id. at 44–57. 

9 ‘‘The language of the statute and its legislative 

history indicate that California’s regulations, and 

California’s determination that they comply with 

the statute, when presented to the Administrator are 

presumed to satisfy the waiver requirements and 

that the burden of proving otherwise is on whoever 

attacks them.’’ Motor and Equipment Mfrs. Ass’n v. 

EPA, 627 F.2d 1095, 1121 (D.C. Cir. 1979). 

10To be consistent, the California certification 

procedures need not be identical to the Federal 

certification procedures. California procedures 

would be inconsistent, however, if manufacturers 

would be unable to meet the State and the Federal 

requirements with the same test vehicle in the 

course of the same test. See, e.g., 43 FR 32182 (July 

25, 1978). 

11See, e.g., 81 FR 78149, 78153 (November 7, 

2016); 81 FR 95982 95985–86 (December 29, 2016). 

EPA recently found and confirmed, in the Agency’s 

reconsideration of a previous withdrawal of a 

waiver of preemption for CARB’s Advanced Clean 

Car program, that the traditional interpretation of 

section 209(b)(1)(B) was appropriate and continues 

to be a better interpretation. 87 FR 14332, 14367 

(March 14, 2022). CARB’s May 22, 2023, waiver 

request addresses both the traditional and an 

alternative interpretation wherein the need for the 

specific standards in the waiver request would be 

evaluated. 

becoming effective November 30, 2022) 

contain a series of requirements under 

California’s low-emission vehicle (LEV) 

IV regulation and a series of 

requirements regarding its zeroemission vehicle (ZEV) program.1 The 

LEV IV requirements include, for 

example, applying exhaust and 

evaporative emission fleet-average 

standards solely to vehicles powered by 

internal combustion engines and 

excluding ZEVs from the fleet 

calculation. The LEV IV requirements 

reduce the maximum allowed exhaust 

and evaporative emission rates from 

vehicles under the existing fleet-average 

standard and aim to reduce cold-start 

emissions by applying the emissions 

standards to a broader range of in-use 

driving conditions.2 The ZEV 

requirements of ACC II include, for 

example, a requirement for vehicle 

manufacturers to sell increasing 

percentages of ZEVs beginning with the 

2026 MY.3 Manufacturers are able to 

meet up to 20 percent of their sales 

requirements through the use of plug-in 

hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) that meet 

specified requirements. 

CARB requests that EPA grant a new 

waiver for the ACC II regulatory 

program. CARB’s request and waiver 

analysis includes ‘‘a description of 

California’s rulemaking actions, a 

review of the criteria governing EPA’s 

evaluation of California’s request for 

waiver action, [CARB’s] analysis and 

rationale supporting [its] request, and 

supporting documents.’’ 4 CARB’s 

waiver analysis, set forth in its ACC II 

Waiver Support Document, addresses 

how the ACC II regulations and CARB’s 

waiver request meet each of the three 

waiver criteria in section 209(b)(1) of 

the CAA.5 For example, CARB explains 

how the ACC II regulations will not 

cause California motor vehicle emission 

standards, in the aggregate, to be less 

protective of public health and welfare 

than applicable federal standards and 

that no basis exists for the EPA 

Administrator to find that CARB’s 

determination is arbitrary and 

capricious under section 209(b)(1)(A) of 

the CAA.6 CARB also explains how it 

continues to demonstrate California’s 

need for a separate motor vehicle 

emission program, including the ACC II 

regulations contained in its waiver 

request, under section 209(b)(1)(B) of 

the CAA.7 Finally, CARB explains how 

the ACC II regulations in its waiver 

request meet the requirement in section 

209(b)(1)(C), which requires California’s 

regulations to be consistent with section 

202(a) of the CAA.8

II. Scope of Preemption and Criteria for 

a Waiver Under the Clean Air Act 

Section 209(a) of the CAA provides: 

No State or any political subdivision 

thereof shall adopt or attempt to enforce any 

standard relating to the control of emissions 

from new motor vehicles or new motor 

vehicle engines subject to this part. No state 

shall require certification, inspection or any 

other approval relating to the control of 

emissions from any new motor vehicle or 

new motor vehicle engine as condition 

precedent to the initial retail sale, titling (if 

any), or registration of such motor vehicle, 

motor vehicle engine, or equipment. 

Section 209(b) of the Act requires the 

Administrator, after notice and 

opportunity for public hearing, to waive 

application of the prohibitions of 

section 209(a) for any state that has 

adopted standards (other than crankcase 

emission standards) for the control of 

emissions from new motor vehicles or 

new motor vehicle engines prior to 

March 30, 1966, if the state determines 

that the state standards will be, in the 

aggregate, at least as protective of public 

health and welfare as applicable Federal 

standards. California is the only state 

that is qualified to seek and receive a 

waiver under section 209(b).9 Section 

209(b)(1) requires the Administrator to 

grant a waiver unless he finds that (A) 

the determination of the state is 

arbitrary and capricious, (B) the state 

does not need the state standards to 

meet compelling and extraordinary 

conditions, or (C) the state standards 

and accompanying enforcement 

procedures are not consistent with 

section 202(a) of the Act. Previous 

decisions granting waivers of Federal 

preemption for motor vehicles have 

stated that State standards are 

inconsistent with section 202(a) if there 

is inadequate lead time to permit the 

development of the necessary 

technology giving appropriate 

consideration to the cost of compliance 

within that time period or if the Federal 

and State test procedures impose 

inconsistent certification procedures.10

III. Request for Comment 

When EPA receives new waiver 

requests from CARB, EPA traditionally 

publishes a notice of opportunity for 

public hearing and comment and then, 

after the comment period has closed, 

publishes a notice of its decision in the 

Federal Register. In this action, EPA 

invites comment on the following three 

criteria: whether (a) California’s 

determination that its motor vehicle 

emission standards are, in the aggregate, 

at least as protective of public health 

and welfare as applicable Federal 

standards is arbitrary and capricious, (b) 

California needs such standards to meet 

compelling and extraordinary 

conditions, and (c) California’s 

standards and accompanying 

enforcement procedures are consistent 

with section 202(a) of the CAA. 

With regard to section 209(b)(1)(B), 

EPA must grant a waiver request unless 

the Agency finds that California ‘‘does 

not need such State standards to meet 

compelling and extraordinary 

conditions.’’ EPA has interpreted the 

phrase ‘‘need[s] such State standards to 

meet compelling and extraordinary 

conditions’’ to mean that California 

needs a separate motor vehicle program 

as a whole in order to address 

environmental problems caused by 

conditions specific to California and/or 

effects unique to California (the 

‘‘traditional’’ interpretation).11 EPA 

intends to use this traditional 

interpretation in evaluating California’s 


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88910 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 26, 2023 / Notices 

12See, e.g., 81 FR 78149, 78153–54 (‘‘EPA has 

previously stated that the determination is limited 

to whether those opposed to the waiver have met 

their burden of establishing that California’s 

standards are technologically infeasible, or that 

California’s test procedures impose requirements 

inconsistent with the federal test procedure. 

Infeasibility would be shown here by demonstrating 

that there is inadequate lead time to permit the 

development of technology necessary to meet the 

2013 HD OBD New or Stricter Requirements that 

are subject to the waiver request, giving appropriate 

consideration to the cost of compliance within that 

time.’’) (citing 38 FR 30136 (November 1, 1973) and 

40 FR 30311 (July 18, 1975)); 81 FR 95982, 95986 

(December 29, 2016); 70 FR 50322 (August 26, 

2005). 

need for the ACC II regulations under 

section 209(b)(1)(B). 

With regard to section 209(b)(1)(C), 

EPA must grant a waiver request unless 

the Agency finds that California’s 

standards are not consistent with 

section 202(a). EPA has previously 

stated that consistency with section 

202(a) requires that California’s 

standards must be technologically 

feasible within the lead time provided, 

giving due consideration to costs, and 

that California and applicable Federal 

test procedures be consistent.12

EPA also maintains a web page that 

contains general information on its 

review of California waiver and 

authorization requests. Included on that 

page are links to prior waiver and 

authorization Federal Register notices. 

The page can be accessed at https://

www.epa.gov/state-and-localtransportation/vehicle-emissionscalifornia-waivers-and-authorizations. 

IV. Procedures for Public Participation 

The virtual public hearing will be 

held on January 10, 2024. If necessary, 

an additional session may be held on 

January 11, 2024, to accommodate the 

number of testifiers that sign-up to 

testify. The hearing will begin at 10:00 

a.m. Eastern Time (ET). All hearing 

attendees (including those who do not 

intend to provide testimony and merely 

listen) should register for the public 

hearing at: https://www.epa.gov/ 

regulations-emissions-vehicles-andengines/virtual-public-hearingcalifornias-advanced-clean-car. Those 

seeking to register should do so by 

January 4, 2024. 

If you require the services of a 

translator or special accommodations 

such as American Sign Language, please 

pre-register for the hearing and describe 

your needs by January 4, 2024. EPA may 

not be able to arrange accommodations 

without advance notice. 

Please note that any updates made to 

any aspect of the hearing will be posted 

online at: https://www.epa.gov/ 

regulations-emissions-vehicles-andengines/virtual-public-hearingcalifornias-advanced-clean-car. While 

EPA expects the hearing to go forward 

as set forth above, please monitor the 

website or contact the person listed in 

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section to determine if there are any 

updates. EPA does not intend to publish 

a document in the Federal Register 

announcing updates. 

Each commenter will have 3 minutes 

to provide oral testimony. EPA may ask 

clarifying questions during the oral 

presentations but will not respond to 

the presentations at that time. EPA 

recommends submitting the text of your 

oral comments as written comments to 

the docket for this action. Written 

statements and supporting information 

submitted during the comment period 

will be considered with the same weight 

as oral comments and supporting 

information presented at the public 

hearing. 

The Agency will make a verbatim 

record of the proceedings at the hearing 

that will be placed in the docket. EPA 

will keep the record open until February 

27, 2024. After expiration of the 

comment period, the Administrator will 

render a decision on CARB’s request 

based on the record of the public 

hearing, relevant written submissions, 

and other information that he deems 

pertinent. 

Sarah Dunham, 

Director, Office of Transportation and Air 

Quality, Office of Air and Radiation. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28301 Filed 12–22–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2023–0613; FRL–11608– 

01–OCSPP] 

Formaldehyde; Draft Risk Evaluation 

Peer Review by the Science Advisory 

Committee on Chemicals (SACC); 

Request for Nominations of ad hoc 

Expert Reviewers 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is seeking public 

nominations of scientific and technical 

experts that EPA can consider for 

service as ad hoc reviewers assisting the 

Science Advisory Committee on 

Chemicals (SACC) with the peer review 

of the Agency’s evaluation of the risks 

from formaldehyde being conducted to 

inform risk management decisions 

under the Toxic Substances Control Act 

(TSCA) and the Federal Insecticide, 

Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) 

programs. EPA expects to ask the SACC 

to consider and review the Office of 

Pollution, Prevention, and Toxics 

(OPPT) and the Office of Pesticide 

Programs (OPP) joint hazard 

assessments for human and ecological 

health; and the OPPT exposure and risk 

characterizations. This SACC peer 

review is in addition to prior external 

peer reviews by the National Academies 

of Science, Engineering, and Medicine 

(NASEM), the EPA’s Human Studies 

Review Board (HSRB) and the SACC. 

The Agency is leveraging these peer 

reviews to support further development 

of the risk evaluation of formaldehyde. 

To facilitate nominations, this 

document provides information about 

the SACC, the intended topic for the 

planned peer review, the expertise 

sought for this peer review, instructions 

for submitting nominations to EPA, and 

the Agency’s plan for selecting the ad 

hoc reviewers for this peer review. 

DATES: Submit your nominations on or 

before January 25, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your nominations to 

the Designated Federal Official (DFO) 

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

DFO is Tamue Gibson, MS, Mission 

Support Division (7602M), Office of 

Program Support, Office of Chemical 

Safety and Pollution Prevention, 

Environmental Protection Agency; 

telephone number: (202) 564–7642 or 

call the SACC main office at (202) 564– 

8450; email address: gibson.tamue@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. What action is the Agency taking? 

The Agency is seeking public 

nominations of scientific and technical 

experts that EPA can consider for 

service as ad hoc reviewers assisting the 

SACC with the peer review of the 

Agency’s evaluation of the risks from 

formaldehyde being conducted to 

inform risk management decisions 

under TSCA and FIFRA programs. EPA 

expects to ask the SACC to consider and 

review the OPPT and OPP joint hazard 

assessments for human and ecological 

health; and the OPPT exposure and risk 

characterizations. This SACC peer 

review is in addition to prior external 

peer reviews by the National Academies 

of Science, Engineering, and Medicine 

(NASEM), the EPA’s Human Studies 

Review Board (HSRB) and the SACC. 

The Agency is leveraging these peer 

reviews to support further development 

of the risk evaluation of formaldehyde. 


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