xvEPA
   United States         Office of Transportation                            EPA420-F-05-062
   Environmental Protection            K                                <-rm*.v
   Agency             and Air Quality                                 December 2005
                    Regulatory
                   Supplemental Notice of Proposed
                   Rolemakirig for Component
                   Durability Test Procedures
                   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a
                   Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) to request
                   comment on options for addressing component durability during the
                   vehicle emissions certification process.
                   Summary of the Supplemental Notice
                   This rule is related to an April 2, 2004, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
                   (NPRM) concerning procedures that manufacturers of light-duty ve-
                   hicles, light-duty trucks and heavy-duty vehicles use to demonstrate, for
                   purposes of emission certification, that new motor vehicles will comply
                   with EPA emissions standards throughout their useful life period. The
                   demonstration of light-duty vehicle emission durability for purposes of
                   certification consists of two elements: (1) emission deterioration and (2)
                   component durability. The April 2004 NPRM proposed emissions certifi-
                   cation durability procedures to be used by manufacturers to demonstrate
                   the expected rate of deterioration of the emission levels of their vehicles.
                   The proposal did not make any changes to component durability proce-
                   dures. It carried over the component durability requirements from "CAP
                   2000" (Compliance Assurance Program). EPA received several com-
                   ments on the NPRM pertaining to component durability, and as a result
                   of the complex nature of the comments, we determined that the issue of
                   component durability warranted further consideration and discussion.

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Key Elements of the Proposed
Rule
This SNPRM will request comment on
three different options that manufacturers
can use to demonstrate component durabil-
ity.

• [Option 1 - Retain the current EPA pro-
  cess of allowing manufacturers to use
  good engineering judgement, such as
  computer modeling, test data, or other
  established methods to demonstrate
  component durability.

• [Option 2 - Allow manufacturers to con-
  tinue using the current EPA process, but
  would also require the manufacturers to
  submit whole vehicle testing data for a
  worst-case vehicle configuration.

• [Option 3 - This option is similar to
  Option 2 in that it would allow manu-
  facturers to continue using the current
  EPA process, and would also require the
  manufacturers to submit whole vehicle
  testing data for a worst-case vehicle
  configuration when a new type of com-
  ponent or new technology is being intro-
  duced.
found that CAP 2000 regulations were
not consistent with Section 206(d) of the
Clean Air Act, because they did not "estab-
lish methods and procedures for making
tests." The Court remanded EPA to revise
its CAP 2000 regulations to establish more
prescribed test procedures. EPA intends to
proceed with finalization of the emission
deterioration procedures discussed in the
NPRM, and is issuing this supplemental
notice to address the comments received
during the rulemaking process.
Public Participation
Opportunities
We welcome your comments on this pro-
posed rule. For instructions on submitting
written comments, please see the Federal
Register notice, which is available from the
Web site below or from the EPA Air Dock-
et (202-566-1742; please refer to Docket
No. OAR-2002-0079). You can access the
proposed rule and related documents on
EPA's Office of Transportation and Air
Quality (OTAQ) Web site at:

   www.epa.gov/otaq/ld-hwy.htarfcap2K
Background
The April 2, 2004, NPRM was the result of
legal action by Afton Chemical Corpora-
tion (formerly known as Ethyl Corpora-
tion). Afton petitioned for review of the
CAP 2000 rulemaking, claiming that CAP
2000 durability provisions were unlawful
since EPA had not established methods and
procedures for making tests by regulation
as required by Section 206. In an opinion
issued on October 22, 2002, the Court
For IVIore Information
For additional information on this final
rulemaking, please contact
Line Wehrly at:

   U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
   Office of Transportation & Air Quality
   2000 Traverwood Drive
   Ann Arbor, MI 48105
   (734)214-42860
   E-mail: wehrly.linc@epa.govD
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