Opinion ID: 426343
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Scope of Certification

Text: 35 Petitioner APRA objects to the broad applicability of the certification program to all parts affecting emissions. Under the final regulations, all emission-related components are eligible for certification. Id. at 78,451. For the time being, only those 13 parts for which emission critical parameters have been identified may be certified, but EPA plans to develop standards for certifying other parts affecting emissions in the future. Id. EPA's justification for applying the certification program broadly was based on its recognition that a part can affect emissions both directly and indirectly, by adversely affecting another part which, in turn, causes an increase in emissions. Id. at 78,448. According to the agency, Congress was well aware that ... items, such as spark plugs, air cleaner elements, etc., impact upon a vehicle's ability to meet applicable emission standards and might be cited as a basis for denying an emission warranty claim at any time during a vehicle's useful life. Id. at 78,450. 36 APRA disagrees, asserting that the Act only permits certification of parts which were installed for the primary purpose of reducing emissions (primary parts) and that the regulations therefore exceed EPA's statutory authority. APRA advances two major arguments in support of its narrower reading of the statute. The first is based on its interpretation of the scope of the section 207(b) warranty; the second is based on the alleged anticompetitive effects of the broad certification program favored by EPA. We reject both of these claims and hold that EPA's conclusion--that Congress intended the certification program to extend to all parts affecting emissions--is a proper interpretation of the Act. 37 APRA claims that the certification program is limited to those parts covered by the performance warranty under section 207(b), which it reads to include only primary parts. In light of our holding today in Automotive Parts, this argument must fall. In that case we reject APRA's interpretation of the scope of the performance warranty and uphold EPA's application of the warranty to all parts affecting emissions for the first 24 months or 24,000 miles of a vehicle's useful life. At 151-152. Only after 24 months or 24,000 miles is the performance warranty limited to primary parts; even then, EPA has the authority to require vehicle manufacturers to repair or replace, free of charge, any component that causes the primary part to fail. Id. at 153; see also 40 C.F.R. Sec. 85.2107 (1982) (defining the remedies required in case of the failure of a primary part). Because the section 207(b) warranty runs to parts affecting emissions, the certification program must extend to such parts in order for the regulations to carry out the purposes of section 207(b). 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7541(a)(2). If only primary parts could be certified under the regulations, vehicle manufacturers could tie their honoring a warranty claim to the use of their own secondary parts. This is the very result the certification provision was designed to prevent. Nothing in the language of section 207(a)(2) or the legislative history of the 1977 Amendments indicates that Congress intended to limit the scope of the certification program to primary parts. 38 APRA also argues that the certification regulations are anticompetitive because they coerce small parts manufacturers into incurring the financial burden of certification rather than face the competitive disadvantage that would flow from the failure to certify their parts. According to APRA, parts manufacturers that are unable to certify because of the expense of the certification program will suffer a competitive disadvantage with respect to those parts that are certified. 39 Congress made clear that the purpose of the certification program is to enable parts manufacturers to compete more effectively with vehicle manufacturers. It is true that a financially prohibitive certification procedure would counteract the competitive advantages of certification, and Congress intended to keep the costs of certification low enough so that small parts manufacturers could participate. But Congress never indicated that it intended to exclude whole categories of parts from the certification program. The fact that those parts manufacturers who choose not to certify their parts will suffer a competitive disadvantage compared to those who do certify is the inevitable result of a voluntary certification program. Because the purpose of the program is to enhance the competitive position of all independent parts manufacturers, vis-a-vis the automobile manufacturers, the scope of the program should be broad. The eligibility of all parts affecting emissions for certification is a proper interpretation of the Act. 40