State of California
AIR RESOURCES BOARD
State Building
Auditorium, Room 1138
107 South Broadway
Los Angeles, CA
August 23, 1984
10:00 a.m.
AGENDA
Page
84-12-1 Board Committee Report on Review of State Ambient
Air Quality Standard for Hydrogen Sulfide.
84-12-2 Public Hearing to Consider Amendments to 001
Regulations Regarding Certification of Heavy-Duty
Engines and Vehicles.
84-12-3 Public Hearing to Consider Amendments to Emissions 053
Warranty Regulations.
84-12-4 Status Report on the California Emergency Episode 076
Plan and Ozone Episodes in the South Coast Air Basin.
84-12-5 Status Report on Cogeneration.
84-12-6 Other Business
a. Closed Session
1. Personnel (as authorized by State Agency Open
Meeting Act, Govt. Code Sec. 11126(a).)
2. Litigation (Pursuant to the attorney-client
privilege, Evidence Code Sec. 950-962, and
Govt. Code Sec. 11126(q).)
b. Research Proposals
c. Delegations to Executive Officer
FOR FURTHER INQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT THE BOARD SECRETARY:
Harold Holmes
1102 Q' Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 322-5594
SMOKING NOT PERMITTED AT MEETINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES
BOARD.
ITEM NO.: 84-12-1
Public Hearing to Consider Amendments to Regulations Regarding
Certification of Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles.
RECOMMENDATION
That the Board amend the heavy-duty diesel engine regulations to
align them with the 1985 federal regulations and also incorporate
other technical changes as outlined below.
DISCUSSION
At this public hearing the Board will consider two major
regulatory issues as they pertain to heavy-duty engines and
vehicles as outlined below:
1. Most California heavy-duty diesel engines are currently
certified under the optional transient cycle exhaust
emission standards and test procedures. Recently EPA
amended these regulations for 1985 and subsequent model
years. The significant changes are: (1) standardized full-life
and recall periods for each of three heavy-duty diesel
engine classes, (2) reduced certification protocol, and (3)
other minor technical changes to the transient test
procedures. The standardized full-life requirements
establish specific time and mileage periods for each of the
three heavy-duty engine subclasses. These assigned full-life values
determine the extent of new required emission
control system durability and the required period for
compliance with emission standards, and also establish the
recall liability period. Currently, the manufacturers
determine their own useful life periods, which do not differ
significantly from the standardized full-life periods.
There is no change recommended to California's 5
year/100,000 mile warranty period.
As a result of the federal regulation amendments, the
California heavy-duty procedures should be amended. The
changes are appropriate to maintain consistency with the
1985 federal test procedures and regulations. This action
will ensure continuation of the California waiver of federal
preemption for 1985 and subsequent model year heavy-duty
diesel engines.
Consideration of amendments to California requirements based
on the revised federal heavy-duty gasoline engine
regulations should be postponed until later this year. It
appears that there are a number of substantive issues which
are unresolved regarding the federal gasoline standards and
regulations, and which would benefit from additional
development and discussion.
2. At the April, 1984 public hearing, the Board decided to
delete the emissions information window decal for light-duty
vehicles. The Board was unable to adopt the required
regulatory changes for heavy-duty vehicles at that time due
to the regulatory constraints of the public hearing notice.
The Board believed that the decal was unnecessary for
vehicles and instructed the staff to include a similar
consideration for heavy-duty engines at an upcoming hearing.
It is therefore included in this consideration.
SUMMARY AND IMPACTS OF PROPOSED REGULATORY CHANGES
The specific regulatory changes to be considered are listed
below, along with the emission and cost impacts.
a) Revise California's heavy-duty diesel requirements to
incorporate the 1985 federal certification and test
procedures including assigned full-life emissions compliance
and recall periods and other technical amendments to the
test procedures.
Provide for the existing primary heavy-duty standards and
steady-state procedures to apply only to heavy-duty gasoline
engines and vehicles, and not to heavy-duty diesel engines
and vehicles beginning with the 1985 model year. The
existing optional heavy-duty standards would become the
primary standards for 1985 and subsequent model year heavy-duty
diesel engines.
There are no emissions impacts, however, manufacturers
should realize a cost savings by having consistent
California and federal test procedures.
b) Delete the requirement for affixing an emission information
decal to heavy-duty engines. There is no emissions impact.
A slight cost savings will result for manufacturers.
c) For consistency, incorporate the above mentioned changes in
the Board's tune-up label and vehicle emission-related
defects reporting procedures applicable to heavy-duty diesel
engines and vehicles. No impacts are estimated by the
staff.
ITEM NO.: 84-12-2
Public Hearing to Consider Amendments to Emissions Warranty
Regulations.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Board (1) add diesel particulate
control components to the "Emission Warranty Parts List," and (2)
clarify the warranty period applicable to light-duty diesel
particulate control systems on vehicles certified to the 100,000-mile
optional standards, and (3) clarify the applicability of the
reduced two-year or 24,000-mile warranty provisions to
miscellaneous warranted parts. Affected regulations are:
Sections 2035 and 2036, Title 13, California Administrative Code,
the "Emissions Warranty Parts List" incorporated by Section 2036.
DISCUSSION
Two emission control warranty related items are included in the
proposed amendments. They are discussed below.
1. Warranty for diesel trap-oxidizer systems.
Diesel-powered passenger cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty
vehicles will be required to comply with more stringent
California standards for particulate emissions for 1985 and
subsequent model years. As a result, most diesel vehicles
will be equipped with some form of add-on particulate
control system in the mid to late 1980's.
The "Emissions Warranty Parts List" identifies the emission-related
parts of a vehicle or engine that are subject to the
Board's defects warranty requirements. In the 1982
rulemaking, diesel particulate control components were not
added to the "Emissions Warranty parts List." At that time
system designs were still under development and the
identification of specific components was premature. The
staff is now able to identify these components and proposes
that they be added to the "Emissions Warranty Parts List."
Mercedes-Benz is currently in the process of certifying some
diesel models with add-on particulate controls for
California in 1985. As a result, Mercedes-Benz recently
requested clarification regarding its warranty obligations
for particulate controls. Mercedes was specifically
concerned about the inconsistency between the 50,000-mile
compliance demonstration for the particulate standards and
the warranty period applicable to the 100,000-mile option.
In addition to meeting with Mercedes, the staff solicited
other manufacturers' comments.
It became apparent from review of the comments received that
despite the existing regulations, the manufacturers believed
a 50,000-mile warranty period would apply to particulate
control systems certified under the 100,000-mile standards
option. In addition, manufacturers expressed concern
regarding extended warranty liability for this new
technology without having adequate time to evaluate
durability in actual customer use.
The staff concurs with the manufacturers in their belief
that five-year or 50,000-mile warranty should apply to
particulate control systems. Staff therefore proposes an
amendment to the "useful life" definition which would result
in a five-year or 50,000-mile warranty for particulate
controls certified under the 100,000-mile option. Staff
proposes one exception to the five-year or 50,000-mile
warranty, which would apply when particulate control
component failures cause a control system for another
pollutant that is certified to 100,000 miles to fail to
perform as designed. Under this situation, the staff
proposes that ten-year or 100,000-mile warranty coverage be
required for all emission control components, including the
trap oxidizer.
2. Applicability of Two-Year/24,000-mile Warranty Provisions.
In June 1983 the Board amended the Emissions Warranty Parts
List to identify those items which must be warranted for two
years or 24,000-miles if the vehicle is certified to the
optional NOx standards with limited 75,000-mile recall
liability. The amendments were adopted to reflect recent
legislation, and identify specified components of the fuel
metering and ignition systems as well as some miscellaneous
items such as hoses anc clamps used on the emission control
systems. The current staff proposal would remove a
potential ambiguity in the regulations and make clear that
the miscellaneous items subject to the two-year/24,000-mile
warranty include only those items used on the fuel metering
and ignition system components which are themselves subject
to the shorter warranty period.
SUMMARY AND IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED REGULATORY CHANGES
The proposed amendments to the "Emission Warranty Parts List" are
largely technical in nature.
The proposal on the "useful life" definition poses a minor policy
issue regarding the relationship of 50,000-mile durability basis
particulate emission standards to the optional 100,000-mile
standards and warranty obligations for other pollutants. The
staff recommends that 100,000-mile particulate standards with
full-life warranty be considered once it has been determined that
full-life durability of these systems is feasible.
The amendments could result in a minor unquantifiable reduction
in particulate emissions, and would have no adverse environmental
impacts. The amendments would not result in significant new
costs on manufacturers or other businesses.