Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 14 / Monday, January 22, 2001 / Proposed Rules 6521

description of the rule in the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of

the preamble helpful in understanding

the proposed rule? What else could we

do to make the rule easier to

understand?

Send a copy of any comments that

concern how we could make this rule

easier to understand to: Office of

Regulatory Affairs, Department of the

Interior, Room 7229, 1849 C Street NW,

Washington, DC 20240. You may also

email the comments to this address:

Exsec@ios.doi.gov.

List of Subjects in 36 CFR Part 7

District of Columbia, National parks,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Accordingly, we propose to amend

Part 7 of 36 CFR as set forth below:

PART 7—SPECIAL REGULATIONS;

AREAS OF THE NATIONAL PARK

SYSTEM

1. The table of contents is amended by

adding § 7.101 to read as follows:

Sec.

* * * * *

7.101 Wupatki National Monument.

2. The authority for Part 7 is revised

to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1, 3, 9a, 460(q) 462(k).

Sec. 7.96 also issued under D.C. Code 8–137

(1981); D.C. Code 40–721 (1981). Sec. 7.101

also issued under 42 U.S.C. 2000bb; 42

U.S.C. 1996; Executive Orders No. 13084,

13007, 13175.

3. Add § 7.101 to read as follows:

§ 7.101 Wupatki National Monument.

(a) Collection of golden eaglets from

Wupatki National Monument by Hopi

Tribe. Upon terms and conditions

sufficient to prevent impairment to park

resources, and upon a showing that the

Tribe has a valid permit to collect

golden eaglets under the Bald and

Golden Eagle Act, 16 U.S.C. 668–668d,

the Superintendent of Wupatki National

Monument shall grant a permit to the

Hopi Tribe to collect golden eaglets

from Wupatki National Monument for

religious ceremonial purposes.

(b) [Reserved].

Dated: January 12, 2001.

Kenneth L. Smith,

Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife and

Parks.

[FR Doc. 01–1743 Filed 1–19–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[TX–126–3–7474; FRL–6934–3]

Approval and Promulgation of Air

Quality State Implementation Plans

(SIP); Texas: Motor Vehicle Inspection

and Maintenance (I/M) Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: We, the EPA, are proposing

full approval of revisions to the Vehicle

Inspection and Maintenance (I/M)

Program for the Dallas/Fort Worth

(DFW), Houston-Galveston Area (HGA)

and El Paso (ELP) ozone nonattainment

areas adopted by the State of Texas. The

revisions replace the two-speed idle test

in Dallas and Tarrant Counties with

ASM–2, expand the upgraded I/M

program to cover the entire DFW

nonattainment area plus five additional

counties, and implement On-Board

Diagnostic (OBD) testing in Dallas,

Tarrant, Harris, and El Paso Counties.

The I/M SIP revision is part of the DFW

Attainment Demonstration.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before February 21, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this

action should be addressed to Mr.

Thomas H. Diggs, Chief, Air Planning

Section, at the EPA Regional Office

listed below. Copies of the documents

relevant to this action are available for

public inspection during normal

business hours at the following

locations. Environmental Protection

Agency, Region 6, Air Planning Section

(6PD–L), 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700,

Dallas, Texas 75202–2733. Texas

Natural Resource Conservation

Commission, 12100 Park 35 Circle,

Austin, Texas 78711–3087. Persons

interested in examining these

documents should make an

appointment with the appropriate office

at least 24 hours before the visiting day.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Sandra G. Rennie, Air Planning Section

(6PD–L), EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross

Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202–2733,

telephone (214) 665–7367.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

What Is the Status of the Current I/M

Program in Texas?

A low-enhanced vehicle I/M program

called the Texas Motorist Choice (TMC)

Program is operating in the Dallas-Fort

Worth, Houston, and El Paso ozone

nonattainment areas. The program

consists of a 2-speed idle test and gas

cap test in Dallas, Tarrant, Harris, and

El Paso counties, the core counties of

the program. In addition, the program

has a remote sensing component to

identify gross polluters that commute

into the core counties from Denton and

Collin Counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth

area, and from seven surrounding

nonattainment counties in the Houston

area. An interim conditional approval

for this program was proposed on

October 3, 1996 (61 FR 51651). An

interim final conditional approval was

published on July 11, 1997 (62 FR

37138). The conditions were removed

from the interim approval on April 23,

1999 (64 FR 19910).

The State submitted an approvable

18-month demonstration on February 8,

1999, as required by the National

Highway System Designation Act of

1995 (NHSDA), Public Law 104–59,

section 348(c)(1). The program was not

fully approved at that time because one

provision of the interim approval

required that the State provide evidence

that the remote sensing program be

effective in identifying the shortfall in

number of vehicles needed to make up

for the lack of a tailpipe testing program

in all the nonattainment counties. The

State began the remote sensing program

in October 1998. Because the State

submitted this I/M SIP revision in

which it expands geographic coverage,

the requirement to cover the shortfall

with remote sensing (the final barrier to

final full approval) is eliminated when

the new I/M tests start in each county

in the DFW area.

Why Is the State Submitting This SIP

Revision to the I/M Program?

The DFW nonattainment area was

bumped up from moderate to serious

effective March 23, 1998 (63 FR 8128).

An attainment demonstration submitted

in March 1999 was found to be

incomplete, which started a Federal

sanction clock (64 FR 29570, June 2,

1999). This I/M SIP revision was

submitted as part of the new DFW

attainment demonstration. Modeling has

shown that NOX reductions are essential

to reaching attainment in the DFW area.

As a result, the Texas Motorist Choice

I/M program has been revised to include

measurement for NOX emissions and to

provide additional NOX emission

reductions by expanding coverage of the

program to all four counties within the

nonattainment area (Dallas, Tarrant,

Collin and Denton) and selected

attainment counties in the DFW

Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical

Area (CMSA).

6522 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 14 / Monday, January 22, 2001 / Proposed Rules

What Did the State Submit?

The I/M SIP revision was submitted

under a Governor’s letter dated April 25,

2000. The State plans to replace the 2-

speed idle test in the DFW area with

ASM–2, and expand the testing area to

include all four nonattainment counties

plus five additional counties contiguous

to the nonattainment area (Ellis,

Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, and

Rockwall). The SIP revision contains a

narrative, rules, modeling, and

supporting documentation as outlined

in the requirements of the Federal I/M

rules.

What Is an ASM–2 Test?

Acceleration Simulation Mode,

known as ASM, operates the vehicle at

a steady load and steady speed on a

treadmill-type device called a

dynamometer. The test more accurately

simulates real world driving conditions

than the current two-speed idle test.

ASM–2 means that the test is performed

in both approved testing modes, i.e.,

operating the vehicle at 50% load at 15

MPH (ASM5015) and then operating the

vehicle at 25% load at 25 MPH

(ASM2525). The test measures exhaust

concentrations for hydrocarbons, carbon

monoxide, and NOX. Pass/fail standards

are based on the chassis model year and

engine displacement.

EPA’s Analysis of Texas’s I/M Program

The EPA reviewed the State’s

proposal against the requirements

contained in the Act and Federal I/M

rules (40 CFR part 51, subpart S). The

submittal was also reviewed for

administrative completeness under

criteria contained in Federal rules (40

CFR part 51, appendix V). The submittal

was found complete in a letter dated

June 23, 2000.

The following analysis addresses how

the State intends to fulfill the

requirements of the Act and the Federal

I/M rules. Only the sections of the rule

for which the State has made changes

are discussed. All other sections of this

I/M SIP submittal remain the same as

previously approved on an interim

basis.

Legal authority for the State to

implement the I/M program continues

to be granted by Chapter 382 of the

Texas Health and Safety Code, and

Transportation Code sections 502 and

548.

Section 51.350 Applicability

EPA’s regulations establish the

minimum geographic scope for

nonattainment I/M programs based on

nonattainment classification and area

population. As stated previously, the

Texas Motorist Choice program

currently approved in the SIP does not

include tailpipe testing throughout the

urbanized nonattainment areas. The

vehicle shortfall is covered through a

remote sensing program.

Beginning January 1, 2001, On-Board

Diagnostic (OBD) testing will be added

to the low-enhanced, two-speed idle test

currently implemented in Harris, Dallas,

Tarrant, and El Paso Counties. The

shortfall in vehicle coverage for the

HGA nonattainment area will continue

to be made up by remote sensing within

Harris County to identify gross polluting

vehicles commuting in from the seven

surrounding nonattainment counties.

The shortfall in vehicle coverage for the

DFW nonattainment area will continue

to be made up by remote sensing within

Dallas and Tarrant Counties to identify

gross polluting vehicles commuting in

from Collin and Denton Counties only

until tailpipe testing begins in those

counties. In prior actions on the Texas

I/M SIP, we said the remote sensing

program must prove to be effective in

identifying and obtaining repairs on the

same number of vehicles that would be

brought in if the program covered the

entire urbanized area. Otherwise, the

Texas I/M core program areas (Harris

County, Dallas, and Tarrant Counties)

must be expanded to include the entire

urbanized area. (See, 61 FR 51659 and

62 FR 37141.) The DFW I/M core area

is being expanded to include the entire

nonattainment area plus five additional

counties in the CMSA. An expansion to

the entire nonattainment area is

currently being proposed by the State

for HGA but is not the subject of this

notice.

Beginning May 1, 2002, the State

commits to begin vehicle testing in

Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton

Counties utilizing ASM–2 or a vehicle

emissions testing program that meets

SIP emissions reduction requirements

and is approved by EPA. This will be in

addition to OBD testing.

Beginning May 1, 2003, the State will

expand the I/M program to include the

attainment counties of Ellis, Johnson,

Kaufman, Parker, and Rockwall. These

additional counties will transition from

performing just safety inspections plus

gas cap pressure testing to also doing

OBD and ASM–2 (or other EPA

approved) testing as described above.

The State submittal meets the

requirements of § 51.350 of the Federal

I/M regulation for approval.

Section 51.351–352 Low Enhanced I/M

Performance Standard

The State submitted a modeling

demonstration using the EPA computer

model MOBILE5alh and localized

parameters showing that the low

enhanced performance standard can be

met for Volatile Organic Compounds

(VOCs) and Nitrogen Oxides ( NOX) in

the DFW area with the ASM–2 test

proposed by the State. The low

enhanced performance standard is

established in 40 CFR 51.351(g). The

State modeled with a test and repair

program that assumes a 100 percent

credit for network effectiveness,

although the compliance rate is

estimated at 95 percent. The State

submitted an approvable 18-month

demonstration on February 8, 1999, as

required by the NHSDA that validated

the program credit claimed.

The State submittal meets the

performance standard requirement of

the Federal I/M regulation for approval.

Section 51.354 Adequate Tools and

Resources

Section 382.037(e) and (k), of the

Texas Health and Safety Code,

authorizes the program to charge an

emission inspection fee. The SIP

narrative also describes the budget,

staffing support, and equipment that

will be added to the existing personnel

and budget needed to implement the

program.

The State submittal meets the

adequate tools and resources

requirements of the Federal I/M

regulations for approval.

Section 51.357 Test Procedures and

Standards

Vehicles tested in all area programs

are also subject to an antitampering

check and a gas cap pressure test.

Vehicles that are model year 1996 and

newer will receive an OBD check. In the

DFW I/M program area, vehicles that are

model year 1995 and older will be

subject to an ASM–2 loaded mode

tailpipe test. The State already

committed to implementing OBD testing

on all 1996 and newer vehicles

beginning January 1, 2001, in a SIP

revision that was approved April 23,

1999 (64 FR 19910).

The State submittal meets this

requirement for vehicle coverage of the

Federal I/M rule.

Section 51.358 Test Equipment

The revised I/M SIP describes the

ASM–2 test equipment that will be used

in the DFW I/M program area.

Specifications are included. OBD testing

equipment will meet all Federal

requirements contained in 40 CFR

85.2207–2231 and Society of Engineers

practices in J2962, J1978, and J1979.

The OBD equipment will be tethered to

the emissions analyzer which will

automatically record the data into a

central data collection system.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 14 / Monday, January 22, 2001 / Proposed Rules 6523

The State submittal meets the

requirement for vehicle coverage of the

Federal I/M rule.

Section 51.371 On-Road Testing

Vehicles commuting into Dallas and

Tarrant Counties from Denton and

Collin Counties will continue to be

monitored via remote sensing through

April 30, 2002. Starting May 1, 2002, all

subject vehicles in Collin and Denton

County will receive a tailpipe emissions

test, as described in this proposal and

the revised SIP.

In addition, the State will comply

with the on-road testing requirements

by continuing to use remote sensing to

evaluate the on-road emissions

performance of at least 20,000 vehicles

(or 0.5 percent of the fleet) subject to

emissions testing in all I/M program

areas. All probable high-emitting

vehicles which are registered within

these counties are identified for

compliance follow-up.

The State submittal meets the

requirement for on-road testing of the

Federal I/M rule.

Section 51.373 Implementation

Deadlines

The Texas Motorist Choice Program

met the November 15, 1997, start date

requirement of the NHSDA. The Texas

Motorist Choice Program started in July

1996 in Dallas and Tarrant Counties and

in January 1997 in Harris and El Paso

Counties. It has been operating

continuously since that time.

The revised I/M SIP commits to a

schedule for start-up of ASM–2 testing

activities and OBD testing. All other

aspects of this regulation remain the

same as previously approved on an

interim basis.

The State submittal meets the

compliance with implementation plan

submission requirements of the Federal

I/M regulations for approval.

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Our review of this submittal indicates

that the proposed SIP revision meets the

minimum requirements of the Act and

Federal I/M rules. Based upon the

discussion contained in the previous

analysis sections and in the Technical

Support Document accompanying this

notice, we find that the State’s submittal

represents an acceptable approach to the

I/M requirements and meets the

requirements for approval.

We propose to grant full approval of

the Texas Motorist Choice I/M program

in the DFW area. We also propose to

approve the I/M SIP revision pertaining

to the Houston-Galveston Area and El

Paso nonattainment areas.

Nothing in this action should be

construed as permitting, allowing, or

establishing a precedent for any future

request for revision to any State

implementation plan. Each request for

revision to the State implementation

plan shall be considered separately in

light of specific technical, economic,

and environmental factors and in

relation to relevant statutory and

regulatory requirements.

Administrative Requirements

Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR

51735, October 4, 1993), this proposed

action is not a ‘‘significant regulatory

action’’ and therefore is not subject to

review by the Office of Management and

Budget. This proposed action merely

approves state law as meeting federal

requirements and imposes no additional

requirements beyond those imposed by

state law. Accordingly, the

Administrator certifies that this

proposed rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities under the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601

et seq.). Because this rule proposes to

approve pre-existing requirements

under state law and does not impose

any additional enforceable duty beyond

that required by state law, it does not

contain any unfunded mandate or

significantly or uniquely affect small

governments, as described in the

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

(Public Law 104–4). For the same

reason, this proposed rule also does not

significantly or uniquely affect the

communities of tribal governments, as

specified by Executive Order 13084 (63

FR 27655, May 10, 1998). This proposed

rule will not have substantial direct

effects on the States, on the relationship

between the national government and

the States, or on the distribution of

power and responsibilities among the

various levels of government, as

specified in Executive Order 13132 (64

FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it

merely approves a state rule

implementing a federal standard, and

does not alter the relationship or the

distribution of power and

responsibilities established in the Clean

Air Act. This proposed rule also is not

subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR

19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not

economically significant.

In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA’s

role is to approve state choices,

provided that they meet the criteria of

the Clean Air Act. In this context, in the

absence of a prior existing requirement

for the State to use voluntary consensus

standards (VCS), EPA has no authority

to disapprove a SIP submission for

failure to use VCS. It would thus be

inconsistent with applicable law for

EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission,

to use VCS in place of a SIP submission

that otherwise satisfies the provisions of

the Clean Air Act. Thus, the

requirements of section 12(d) of the

National Technology Transfer and

Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C.

272 note) do not apply. As required by

section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (61

FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing

this proposed rule, EPA has taken the

necessary steps to eliminate drafting

errors and ambiguity, minimize

potential litigation, and provide a clear

legal standard for affected conduct. EPA

has complied with Executive Order

12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988) by

examining the takings implications of

the rule in accordance with the

‘‘Attorney General’s Supplemental

Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk

and Avoidance of Unanticipated

Takings’’ issued under the executive

order. This rule does not impose an

information collection burden under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR part 52

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, Carbon monoxide,

Hydrocarbons, Intergovernmental

relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,

Particulate matter, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur

oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

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

Dated: January 4, 2001.

Gregg A. Cooke,

Regional Administrator, Region 6.

[FR Doc. 01–1519 Filed 1–19–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

49 CFR Part 534

[Docket No. NHTSA 2001–8668]

RIN 2127–AG97

Fuel Economy Standards—Rights and

Responsibilities of Manufacturers in

the Context of Changes in Corporate

Relationships

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA),

Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: This document proposes a

new regulation to define the rights and

responsibilities of manufacturers under