CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES BOARD
County Administration Center
Supervisors Chambers
Room 310
1600 Pacific Highway
San Diego, CA
December 3, 1987
10:00 a.m.
AGENDA
Page
87-16-1 A Report by the County of San Diego on the
Status of Air Quality in San Diego.
87-16-2 Public Hearing to Consider Amendments to 001
Regulations to Establish a Nonconformance
Penalty Program for Heavy-Duty Engines and
Vehicles.
87-16-3 Public Hearing to Consider Regulations Regarding 077
New and Used Aftermarket Catalytic Converters
Offered for Sale and Use in California.
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
ITEM NO.: 87-16-2
Public Hearing to Consider Amendments to Regulations to Establish
a Nonconformance Penalty Program for Heavy-Duty Engines and
Vehicles.
RECOMMENDATION
The staff recommends that the Board amend the ARB's heavy-duty
engine and vehicle regulations to incorporate the applicable
federal nonconformance penalty (NCP) regulations. NCPs allow
manufacturers of heavy-duty engines to certify for sale some
engines that fail to meet an emission standard upon payment of a
monetary penalty. The originally proposed amendments would make
NCPs available for the 1988 and subsequent model year heavy-duty
gasoline engine hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO)
emission standards, and the 1988 through 1990 particulate
emission standard; the particulate NCPs may no longer be
necessary.
DISCUSSION
In recent years the Board has brought the California heavy-duty
engine standards and test procedures for the 1987 and later model
years into general alignment with the corresponding federal
regulations. However, until this year the Board has lacked the
authority to include provisions similar to EPA's NCP regulations.
However, until this year the Board has lacked the authority to
include provisions similar to EPA's NCP regulations. The federal
NCP program allows a manufacturer to sell some engines which do
not meet emission standards while the manufacturer is developing
the more advanced technology necessary to comply with the
standards. The penalty for each noncomplying engine increases
each succeeding year NCPs are available, in order to eliminate
any competitive advantage and assure eventual compliance.
In 1986, the Legislature enacted Health and Safety Code Section
43103 which, effective January 1, 1987, authorized the Board to
establish an NCP program for heavy-duty engines. Section 43103
imposes three significant restrictions on the potential
California NCP program: (a) any ARB regulations must be identical
to the federal nonconformance requirements, procedures and fees;
(b) NCPs may only be adopted for those engines for which the ARB
had adopted emission standards and test procedures that are
identical to the corresponding federal ones; and the state
program cannot be implemented until it is established that
payment of NCP fees in California may substitute for payment of
fees to EPA.
General Motors and Chrysler have requested that the Board
implement an NCP program for the 1988 and subsequent model years.
GM has expressed an immediate need for the program to allow sales
of engines used in motor homes. Unavailability of these engines
could adversely impact the California recreational vehicle
industry.
The proposed amendments would incorporate almost all of the
federal NCP regulations. These include provisions on NCP
availability, initiation of NCPs, the Production Compliance Audit
procedure to set the NCP compliance emission level, the penalty
rates and formulas, and engine labeling requirements. Provisions
on initiation of NCPs upon failure during Selective Enforcement
Audit (SEA) would reflect the absence of SEAs in California. The
NCP fees would be payable to the Air Pollution Control Fund.
The noticed proposal would permit NCPs for the 1988 and
subsequent model 1.1 gram per brake horsepower-hour (g/bhp-hr) HC
and 14.4 g/bhp-hr CO emission standards for gasoline engines
installed in light heavy-duty engines, and for the 1988 through
1990 model year 0.6 g/bhp-hr particulate standard for heavy-duty
diesel engines. EPA also permits NCP for its 1988-1990 model
year 6.0 g/bhp-hr NOx standard, which because of a court decision
will not take effect until the 1990 model year. The staff does
not recommend allowing diesel NOx NCPs for the 1990 model year
because manufacturers have demonstrated the ability to meet a 6.0
g/bhp-hr NOx standard in California since 1984.
Consistent with the statute, the proposed regulations would
provide that the Executive Officer shall not implement the NCP
program until it is established that payment of NCPs in
California may substitute for payment of fees to the EPA. EPA's
present NCP regulations include no references to a potential
program in California, and require that NCP fees be paid to EPA
in all cases. The staff understands that EPA plans to issue
proposed regulations in November 1987 that would waive payment of
NCP fees to EPA where such fees have been paid under a California
program. EPA's goal is to issue final regulations in April,
1988. The staff has invited public comment on whether the
statute permits the ARB to implement an NCP program before EPA
formally adopts its regulatory changes.
If it is determined that the Executive Officer can initiate the
program before final EPA regulations, any California
Certifications would be revoked if it subsequently appears that
EPA will not waive federal collection of NCPs. Manufacturers
would be liable to pay California fees for the period of
certification regardless of what claims EPA might make.
IMPACTS OF PROPOSED BOARD ACTION
Adoption of the staff proposal would result in an emission
increase. The extent of the increase would depend on the number
of engines sold under the program. The staff has estimated that
there may be an increase statewide of less than one tenth ton per
day (tpd) of hydrocarbon emissions, 4.6 tpd of carbon monoxide
emissions and less than one tenth tpd of particulate emissions by
the end of 1990. This estimate assumes 12,000 vehicles will pay
the NCP and be sold annually in California under the program.
The proposal includes measures which may partially mitigate the
relatively small emission increases.
Without an NCP program, GM and Chrysler could not sell their
noncomplying engines in California. The Chrysler engines that
would require NCPs are gasoline powered and are primarily used in
8500 to 10,000 pound GVWR pickup trucks, vans, and wagons. GM
plans to use the NCP provisions for gasoline engines primarily
used in 10,000 to 14,000 pound GVWR recreational and special
purpose commercial vehicles sold by secondary manufacturers. GM
had previously indicated that it may need to use NCPs for its 6.2
Liter diesel engine used primarily in 8500 to 10,000 pound GVWR
pickup trucks, vans and suburbans. Complying gasoline engines
could be substituted for these vehicles. More recently, GM has
advised the staff that this diesel engine meets the 1988
standards and therefore NCPs will not be necessary. In the
absence of other testimony indicating need, the staff believes
the proposal to have NCPs for diesel engines should not be
adopted.
The proposed regulation would not increase manufacturer costs
because the program is voluntary and the NCP is intended to be
equal to the cost of compliance. 1988 NCPs are estimated to
average $39 to $126 per noncomplying gasoline engines.
ITEM NO.: 87-16-3
Public Hearing to Consider Regulations Regarding New and Used
Aftermarket Catalytic Converters Offered for Sale and Use in
California.
RECOMMENDATION
The staff recommends that the Board adopt new subsections (h) and
(I), Section 2222, Title 13, California Administrative Code, and
incorporated documents, to regulate the sale and use of new
non-original equipment and recycled original equipment catalytic
converters.
DISCUSSION
The catalytic converter is one of the most critical emission
control components on 1975 and later model-year vehicles. An
estimated 140,000 converters are installed on used vehicles in
the field each year in California. These regulations are
proposed to ensure that new non-original equipment and used
original equipment converters sold in California have adequate
emission control capabilities.
This proposal would require each new non-original equipment
converter model to meet durability and performance requirements
on two worst-case vehicles. New non-original equipment
converters would also have to meet labeling, warranty and
production audit requirements.
The proposal would adopt the EPA enforcement policy for recycled
original equipment oxidation converters. The proposal would
require each recycled original equipment oxidation converter
prior to its sale in California to pass an integrity check of the
shell and substrate and a performance check on a test engine with
specified operating conditions.
The proposal would not incorporate EPA's test procedures for
recycled original equipment three-way converters because the
staff does not believe that the present bench test procedures are
adequate. Appropriate test procedures for the evaluation of such
converters are currently being developed for future consideration
by the Board. Until these procedures are adopted, the cost of
performing tests which would qualify recycled three-way
converters are so high that it would not make economic sense to
perform them.
SUMMARY AND IMPACTS OF PROPOSED ACTION
The staff estimates that the proposed regulations for new non-original
equipment converters will result in a statewide emission
reduction of 6.8 tons/day NOx by 1994, as compared to continued
application of the current ARB interim policy. Adoption of EPA's
evaluation procedures for screening used converters will reduce
the number of defective or ineffective used converters installed.
It is not possible to quantify the emission reductions that will
occur.
New non-original equipment converters which meet the proposed
California regulation will cost $40 more than comparable new
converters which comply only with federal requirements. A used
oxidation catalyst will cost approximately $45 more than a
salvaged, untested converter from a junkyard. The current
absence of an adequate evaluation procedure for three-way
catalysts will cause a temporary market shift from recyclers to
manufacturers of new converters. The estimated loss in recycled
converter sales is $1,700,00 per year, which represents about 6%
of the total sales. Junkyards will also experience reduced
revenues because the price recyclers will pay for a used catalyst
is expected to be $45 less than the price of the same converter
sold by the junkyard directly to the public.