mEDium AND HEAVY
TRUCKS
NOISE Emission
STANDARDS
Issued on
April 13,1976
Effective Date
March 31,1976
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U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Office of Noise Abatement and Control
Washington, D.C. 20460
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15954
Title 40—PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
Chapter I — Environmental Protection Agency
Part 205 — Transportation Equipment Noise Emission Controls
Medium and Heavy Trucks
CONTENTS
Page
Subpart A
General Provisions 14
Subpart B
Medium and Heavy Trucks 18
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Title 40—Protection of Environment
CHAPTER I—ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY
[PRL 511-6]
PART 205—TRANSPORTATION EQUIP-
MENT NOISE EMISSION CONTROLS
Medium and Heavy Trucks
1. INTRODUCTION
On October 30, 1974, notice was pub-
lished In the FEDERAL REGISTER (39 FR
38338) that the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (EPA or Agency) was pro-
posing noise emission standards for new
medium and heavy trucks distributed in
commerce. The purpose of this notice is
to,establish final noise emission stand-
ards for new medium and heavy trucks
distributed in commerce by establishing
a new Part 205 of Title 40 of the Code of
Federal Regulations. This final rulemak-
ing is promulgated pursuant to sections
6, 10, 11, and 13 of the Noise Control Act
of 1972; 86 Stat. 1234; Public Law 92-574
(the Act).
Through the Noise Control Act of 1972,
the Congress established a National pol-
icy "to promote an environment for all
Americans free from noise that jeopard-
izes their health and welfare." In pursuit
of that policy, Congress stated, in sec-
tion 2 of the Act, "that, while primary
responsibility for control of noise rests
with State and local governments, Fed-
eral action is essential to deal with major
noise sources in commerce control of
which requires national uniformity of
treatment." As part of this essential Fed-
eral action, section 6 of the Act requires
the Administrator to publish proposed
regulations for each product which is
Identified (or is part of a class identified)
in any report published under section 5
(b) (1) as a major source of noise, and if
such products fall into certain specified
categories, one of which is transportation
equipment, to prescribe regulations un-
less in his judgment noise emission
standards are not feasible. The Admin-
istrator identified medium and heavy
trucks as a major source of noise (39
FR 22297).
Under section 6 of the Act, such regu-
lations are to include noise emission
standards, setting limits on noise emis-
sions from products distributed in com-
merce, which are requisite to protect the
public health and welfare, baking into
account the magnitude and conditions of
use of guch products, the degree of noise
reduction .achievable through the appli-
cation of best available technology, and
the cost of compliance. The final regula-
tion being promulgated contains a per-
formance type noise emission standard
and specifies the testing procedure neces-
sary to assure compliance with the emis-
sion standard. The Agency believes that
the standards established by this reguy
lation represent the levels of noise emis-
sions which can be achieved at reason-
able cost by the respective effective dates
through the application of the best avail-
able technology. However, these noise
levels are not sufficiently protective of
public health and welfare. Accordingly,
the Agency Is continuing to investigate
the availability of technology to further
reduce the standards for subsequent
years at acceptable cost. A section in the
regulation has been reserved for a stand-
ard effective in 1985, which EPA will
promulgate as an amendment in accord-
ance with section 6(c) (3) of the Act.
Under section 15 of the Act, the Ad-
ministrator shall certify as a low-noise-
emission-product (LNEP) any product
which emits noise in amounts signifi-
cantly below the levels specified by any
noise emission standard included in a
regulation promulgated pursuant to sec-
tion 6, for which certification applica-
tion has been properly filed and which
the Administrator determines is suitable
for use as a substitute for a type of
product in use by agencies of the Federal
Government (see 39 FR 6670, February
21, 1974). At this time the specific LNEP
noise level (s) for medium and heavy
trucks has not been determined; how-
ever, the Agency will assign specific
level (s) in the near future. Accordingly,
a subsection in the regulation has been
reserved for LNEP standard and selec-
tion criteria.
Under section 6(c)(l) of the Noise
Control Act, after the effective date of
a regulation promulgated under section
6 regarding product noise emission
levels, no State or political subdivision
thereof may adopt or enforce any law
or regulation which sets a limit on noise
emissions from new products regulated
by EPA, unless such law is Identical to
the applicable EPA regulation. Thus, the
preemption is against non-identical
State and local laws regulating the noise
emission level of a Federally-regulated
new product, i.e., a product not yet sold
to the first retail purchaser. This re-
quires that the standard and those ele-
ments of the measurement methodology
which are necessary to define the stand-
ard be identical to the EPA regulation.
However, other elements of the State or
local law need not be identical. Such ele-
ments include the list of persons subject
to the regulations, methods of selecting
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test vehicles and sanctions.
Section (6) (c) (2) of the Act specified
that nothing in section 6 shall preclude
or deny the right of any State or political
subdivision thereof to establish and en-
force controls on environmental noise
and sources thereof through the licens-
ing, regulation, or restriction of the use,
operation, or movement of any product
or combination of products. Such con-
trols which are reserved to State and
local authority under this section
include, but are not limited to, the
following:
1. Controls on the time of day during
which products may be used,
2. Controls on the places or zones in
which products may be used,
3. Controls on the number of products
which may be operated at the same time,
4. Controls on noise emission level
from the properties on which products
are used,
5. Controls on the manner of opera-
tion of products.
Thus, Federal regulations promulgated
under section 6 preempt State and local
time-of-sale noise emission standards
for a product only after the effective
date of a Federal regulation applicable
to such product and only to the extent
that State or local noise emission stand-
ards (and those elements of measure-
ment methodology which are necessary
to define the standard) are different
from the Federal standards relating to
that product.
Conversely, State and local authori-
ties are free to enact regulations on new
products offered for sale with standards
identical to the Federal standards. The
Environmental Protection Agency en-
courages the adoption of such regula-
tions so that State and local govern-
ments may also become actively involved
in the enforcement of the standards.
Recognizing that the Noise Control
Act was enacted to protect the public
from adverse health and welfare effects
due to noise, EPA is carrying out its
regulatory responsibilities for abating
noise from transportation equipment,
and in the present instance, medium and
heavy trucks, through regulatory action
under section 6.
The medium and heavy trucks are the
major contributing noise source to over-
all urban and freeway traffic noise. The
Agency has commenced regulatory ac-
tion on other transportation vehicles,
and the levels chosen for the standards
in this initial medium and heavy truck
regulation are consistent with the over-
all requirements to auiet all vehicles in
order to ultimately reduce noise from all
surface transportation sources to an
acceptable level.
The legal basis and factual conclu-
sions which support promulgation of
this regulation were set forth in sub-
stantial detail in the Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking published in the FEDERAL
REGISTER on October 30, 1974 (39 FR
38338). This publication solicited public
comment with the comment period ex-
tending initially from October 30, 1974,
to December 15, 1974, and subsequently
extended by FEDERAL REGISTER notice (39
FR 42379) to December 31, 1974.
To ensure that all the issues involved
in the proposed regulation would be fully
addressed prior to the promulgation of
the final regulation, public hearings
were held (40 FR 3167, January 22,
1975) in Arlington, Virginia on Febru-
ary 19 and 20, 1975, and in San Fran-
cisco, California on February 26 and
27,1975. In conjunction with these hear-
ings, an additional comment period was
allowed, extending from February 19,
1975, to March 20,1975. The principal is-
sues reviewed at these hearings related
to the lead time set forth for manu-
facturer compliance with the standard,
the enforcement program specified in
the proposed regulation, and the pro-
jected impact of the regulation on manu-
facturers, users, the transportation in-
dustry, and the general public.
Public comments received during each
of the three public comment periods, as
well as the transcripts of the public
hearings, are available to the public and
are maintained at the EPA Headquar-
ters, Public Information Center, 401 M
Street SW., Washington, D.C. 20460.
2. SUMMARY OF THE REGULATION
2.1 Standard and Effective Date
The regulation establishes standards
and enforcement procedures for noise
emissions resulting from the operation
of newly manufactured medium and
heavy trucks over 10,000 Ibs gross ve-
hicle weight rating (GVWR) distributed
in commerce. The standard specifies A-
weighted sound pressure level, measured
at a distance of 50 feet (15.24 meters)
from the longitudinal center line of the
truck, using fast meter response. The
standard measurement procedure used to
obtain the data is presented in more de-
tail in S205.54, subpart B.
The standard and effective dates are:
Sound level (dBA): Effective date
83 Jan. 1, 1978.
80 Jan. 1, 1982.
[Reserved] Jan. 1, 1985.
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The enforcement procedures include
production verification, selective enforce-
ment auditing procedures, warranty,
compliance labeling and antitampering
provisions.
2.2 Enforcement Program
2.2.1 General
The EPA enforcement strategy under
the Noise Control Act of 1972 will place
on the manufacturer the major share of
the responsibility for testing to deter-
mine the compliance of new medium
and heavy trucks with the emission
standard. This approach benefits the
manufacturer by leaving his personnel
in control of many aspects of the com-
pliance program and imposes only a
minimum burden CM his business. At
the same time, the inevitable conflict of
interest imposed on the manufacturer
makes monitoring by EPA of these tests
and manufacturers' actions taken in
compliance with these regulations advis-
able to ensure that medium and heavy
trucks distributed in commerce are in
fact in compliance with these regula-
tions. Accordingly, the regulations pro-
vide that EPA Enforcement Officers may
be present and observe any testing re-
quired by these regulations, or the Ad-
ministrator may require that a manu-
facturer supply him with trucks for test-
Ing either at the manufacturer's facility
or at the EPA Enforcement Test Facility.
In addition, enforcement officers will be
empowered to Inspect records and facili-
ties in order to assure that manufac-
turers are carrying out their responsi-
bilities properly.
The regulations require that the first
person who creates the entity which con-
forms to the definition of vehicle is re-
sponsible for production verification and
complying with the labeling require-
ments. Any person who performs subse-
quent manufacturing operations on the
new product after it has become a ve-
hicle as described within these regu-
lations need not duplicate production
verification or labeling operations. How-
ever, it is incumbent upon this subse-
quent manufacturer to assure that his
manufacturing operations do not cause
the product to exceed the prescribed
standards or obscure or remove the re-
quired labels. In order that the Admin-
istrator may determine the effect on the
noise performance of the vehicle, the
subsequent manufacturer is subject to
the selective enforcement audit of these
regulations.
The enforcement strategy promulgated
hi these regulations consists of three
main parts: (1) Production Verification,
(2) Selective Enforcement Auditing, and
(3) In-TJse Compliance Provisions. A de-
tailed description of these parts, includ-
ing other important administrative parts,
follows.
2.2.2 Production Verification
Production verification is the testing
by a manufacturer or EPA of early pro-
duction models to verify whether a
manufacturer has the requisite noise
control technology in hand and Is capable
of applying the technology in a manu-
facturing process. Models selected for
testing must have been assembled using
the manufacturer's normal assembly
method and must be units assembled for
sale. Models tested must conform with
the standard or the manufacturer may
be required to cease distribution in com-
merce of trucks of that model.
The production unit selected for test-
ing is a truck configuration. A truck con-
figuration is defined on the basis of truck
type, delivery rate, cooling system, air
intake and induction system, engine sys-
tem, and exhaust system. Most of the
testing required by these regulations will
be performed by the manufacturer at his
test site, using his equipment and per-
sonnel, although the Administrator re-
serves the right to be present to monitor
or perform any tests. Production verifi-
cation does not involve any formal EPA
approval or issuance of certificates sub-
sequent to manufacturer testing, nor is
any extensive testing required of EPA.
To avoid delays of shipment of early
production models, due to weather con-
ditions which preclude testing, these
regulations provide that production veri-
fication of a configuration is automati-
cally and conditionally waived for a
manufacturer for a period of up to 45
consecutive days from distribution in
commerce of the first truck of that con-
figuration. The manufacturer must test
a truck on the first day that weather
conditions at his site permit. Failure to
test on such first suitable day will result
in automatic and retroactive withdrawal
of the waiver and will render the manu-
facturer liable for illegally distributing
trucks into commerce.
A manufacturer may production verify
& configuration any time during the
model year or in advance of a model year
if he desires.
A manufacturer shall verify produc-
tion trucks by one of two methods: The
first method will involve testing of a pro-
duction truck (intended for sale) of each
configuration.
Alternatively, production verification
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testing of all configurations produced by
a manufacturer may not be required
where a manufacturer determines that
the noise levels of some configurations
are consistently higher than others or
are always representative of other con-
figurations. In such a case, the higher
emitter would be the only configuration
requiring verification testing.
The manufacturer must production
verify each model year. In some In-
stances, a manufacturer may verify new
models based on data submitted during
previous model years.
2.2.3 Selective Enforcement Auditing
These regulations provide for sample
testing based on an audit of production
trucks. Selective Enforcement Auditing
(SEA) is the term used In this regula-
tion to describe the testing pursuant to
an administrative request, in accordance
with the proposed test procedure, of a
statistical sample of production trucks,
from a particular truck category or con-
figuration selected from a particular as-
sembly plant in order to determine
whether production trucks conform to
the standards and to provide the basis
for further action In the case of non-
conformity.
The sampling strategy adopted by EPA
does not attempt to Impose a quality con-
trol or quality assurance scheme upon a
manufacturer but merely audits the con-
formity of his products.
One important factor which will influ-
ence the decision of the Administrator
to issue a test request is whether the
manufacturer is conducting noise emis-
sion testing of production trucks on his
own cognizance. If a manufacturer can
provide evidence that his trucks are
meeting standards based on tests and
sampling methods acceptable to EPA, is-
suance of a test request may not be
necessary.
The general type of sampling strategy
developed by EPA employs attributes-
type sampling plans applied to a specific
number of batches. Under inspection by
attributes, items are inspected or tested
to determine whether they meet the pre-
scribed specification. The basic decision
criterion is the number of products
whose parameters meet specification
rather than the average value of some
parameter. The particular criterion for
trucks is the noise emission standard
established by this regulation.
As applied to truck noise emissions, the
Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) Is the
maximum percentage of failing trucks
that for purposes of sampling inspection
can be considered satisfactory, where a
truck is considered a failure If It exceeds
the noise emission standard. An AQL of
10 percent was chosen to take into ac-
count some test variability and random
production errors.
2.2.4 Labeling—Compliance and Ex-
terior
These regulations require that trucks
shall be labeled to provide notice that
the truck conforms to the standards
contained herein. The compliance label
shall contain a notice of tampering pro-
hibitions In the Act which prohibit the
removal or rendering inoperative of any
noise control features which are Identi-
fied in the owner's manual. The Agency
Is presently examining a number of ex-
terior vehicle label configurations which
would allow an enforcement official, at a
distance from the vehicle, to ascertain
the noise emission standard to which the
vehicle must comply. Accordingly, a sec-
tion has been reserved in the regulation
for this purpose and as information is
developed for such an exterior label,
regulations may be proposed In the fu-
ture under separate rulemaking.
2.2.5 Inspection and Monitoring
Because of the inevitable conflict of
Interest which results from any compli-
ance system where a significant part of
the rsgulatory activity is controlled by
those being regulated, it is essential that
EPA personnel have access to aspects, of
the system in order to determine whether
the requirements of the regulations are
being followed and whether conforming
trucks are being distributed into com-
merce. Specificallv, the inspection and
monitoring activities shall be for the
purpose of gathering information to
enable the Administrator to satisfy him-
self that required records are being kept,
that products which will be tested are
being selected and properly prepared for
testing, that tests are being properly
conducted and that the manufactured
product is one which conforms to the
regulations, including the applicable
noise emission standard. Such inspection
and monitoring activities will include
access to facets of the testing program
required by the regulations; records, re-
ports, and test results which must be
maintained; facilities (production, test
and storatre) which are connected with
the manufacturing of trucks.
As a minimum, 24 hours prior notice
will normally be given to a manufacturer
by the Director of the Mobile Source En-
forcement Division or his representative
advising him of any visit of EPA En-
forcement Officers. However, the regu-
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lation does provide for notice only at the
time of the visit provided the visit is au-
thorized in •writing by the Assistant Ad-
ministrator for Enforcement.
2.2.6 Record Keeping
These regulations describe the records
and other documents concerning testing
of trucks which must be maintained and
the retention period.
The regulations require that the man-
ufacturers have available a description
of his product line and maintain records
on specific individual trucks he has
tested. For the most part, these infor-
mation requirements can be satisfied by
keeping on hand updated copies of pro-
duction verification reports. Additionally
to preclude issuance of test requests
under the Selective Enforcement Audit-
ing procedures for trucks that may not
be available, the Administrator may re-
quest production information for partic-
ular truck models.
2.2.7 Administrative Remedies
Section ll(d) (1) of the Act provides
that:
Whenever any person Is In violation of
Section- 10(a) of this Act, the Administrator
may Issue an order specifying such relief
as he determines Is necessary to protect the
public health and welfare.
ClearJy, this provision of the Act is
intended to grant the Administrator dis-
cretionary authority to fashion civil
sanctions to supplement the criminal
penalties of Section 11 (a). The resula-
tions provide for two types of civil
remedies: (1) recall orders, and (2)
cease to distribute orders.
If trucks which were not designed,
built, and equipped so as to conform
•with these regulations were distributed
in commerce, such act would be a viola-
tion of Section 10 (a) and remedy of such
nonconformity would be appropriate.
Remedy of the affected trucks might be
carried out pursuant to a recall order.
In some instances, the Administrator
may wish* to issue a cease to distribute
order. If a manufacturer fails to properly
verify, the Administrator may issue an
order requiring the manufacturer to
cease the distribution in commerce of
trucks of that category or configuration
pending compliance with the production
verification requirements. The Adminis-
trator will provide the manufacturer no-
tice and the opportunity for a hearing
prior to the issuance of such an order.
These regulations also provide for
remedy when any manufacturer refuses
to allow EPA personnel access to-his/fa-
cility to conduct activities authorized by
the regulations. This remedy Is in the
form of an order issued by the Admin-
istrator to cease distribution in com-
merce cf trucks of the specified configu-
ration being manufactured at that facil-
ity. The Administrator will provide a
manufacturer notice and the opportu-
nity for a hearing prior to the issuance
of such an order.
2.2.8 Exemptions
The regulations also outline the pro-
cedures by which EPA will administer
the granting of exemptions from the pro-
hibitions of the Act to various product
manufacturers, pursuant to Section
10 (b). The substantive scope of the ex-
emption provisions of section 10 (b) (1)
and (2) are defined and procedures
whereby exemptions may be requested
are set forth. Exemptions will be granted
for testing and national security reasons
only. Export exemptions will be automat-
ically effective, without request, upon
the proper labeling of the products in-
volved. Testing exemptions must be jus-
tified in writing by a sufficient demon-
stration of appropriateness, necessity,
reasonableness, and control. Requests for
national security exemptions must be en-
forced by an agency of the Federal Gov-
ernment charged with the responsibility
for national defense. This would~preclude
the granting of exemptions for products
used for public welfare, such as munici-
pal fire trucks.
2.2.9 Enforcement Test Facility
EPA Intends to have operational In
early 1976 a noise enforcement test fa-
cility. This facility will be located in
Sandusky, Ohio at Plum Brook Station.
EPA intends to conduct confirmatory
tests on products already tested by
manufacturers in addition to independ-
ent compliance testing on products not
specifically tested by the manufacturer.
Because some manufacturers may not
have available to them a facility which
meets the requirements of these regula-
tions, the EPA Enforcement Test Facility
would be available for use by such^manu-
facturers to conduct the required test-
ing. Additionally, manufacturers with
access to facilities may wish to test or
retest some of their products at the EPA
Enforcement Test Facility in order to as-
sure themselves that they have success-
fully production verified their products.
In the instance where compliance test-
ing is conducted at the EPA Enforcement
Test Facility at the manufacturer's re-
qi"?st, he would be charged a fee which is
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representative of the actual expense to
the Government.
2.2.10 In-Use Compliance
The manufacturer is required to
design, buiM and equip vehicles subject
ta these regulations so that they do not
exceed the prescribed noise emission
standard at the time of ultimate sale.
The requirement that the product be
manufactured to meet the standard
without degradation over a period of use-
ful life is not presently included in the
final regulation due to the lack of ade-
quate data to determine the precise pe-
riod of useful life and the amount of
degradation (if any) that may be al-
lowed to occur with use of the product.
By amendment to these regulations, the
Administrator will include a useful life
requirement when appropriate data are
collected. In-use compliance provisions
are included to avoid or minimize deg-
radation from initial noise emission
levels..
The in-use provisions include a re-
quirement that the manufacturer pro-
vide a noise emission warranty to pur-
chasers [required by section 6(d)3, pro-
vide information to the Administrator
which will assist in fully defining those
acts which constitute tampering [under
§ 10(a) (2) (A) I, and provide retail pur-
chasers with instructions specifying the
maintenance, use, and repair required to
reasonably assure elimination or mini-
mization of noise level degradation [au-
thorized by § 6 (c) (1)1.
Under the warranty provisions, in-
tended to more fully implement § 6(d)
(1) of the Act, it is required that the
manufacturer warrant to the ultimate
and subsequent purchasers that new
vehicles subject to these regulations are
designed, built, and equipped so as to
conform at the time of sale with the Fed-
eral noise control regulations. The
manufacturer must furnish this time-of-
sale warranty to the ultimate purchaser
in a prescribed written form, which will
be reviewed by EPA in order that the
Agency can determine whether the
manufacturer's warranty policy is con-
sistent with the intent of the Act. Al-
though this is a time-of-sale warranty,
claims may te made against the manu-
facturer at any time during the life of
the vehicle with respect to a non-con-
formity which relates back to the date
of sale.
The recall section provides that the
manufacturer may be required by EPA
to recall vehicles of a particular con-
figuration, if it is determined that
vehicles of this configuration did not
conform to Federal noise emission stand-
ards at the time of sale.
The tampering provisions require the
manufacturer to furnish a list of acts
which may be done to vehicles in use and
which, if done, are likely to have a detri-
mental impact on noise emissions. The
Administrator will then use this infor-
mation to develop a final list of those acts
which are presumed by EPA to constitute
tampering. A statement of the Federal
law on tampering and the tampering list
must be provided in written form to the
ultimate purchaser.
Under the tampering section of the
Noise Control Act, EPA believes that any
nonoriginal equipment aftermarket part
(including a rebuilt part) may be in-
stalled in or on a vehicle subject to these
regulations if the installer has a reason-
able basis for knowing that it will not
adversely affect noise emissions. For
noise-related replacement aftermarket
parts, a reasonable basis exists if (a) the
installer reasonably believes that the re-
placement part or rebuilt part is designed
to perform the same function with re-
spect to noise control as the replaced
part, or (b) the replacement part or re-
built part is represented in writing by
the part manufacturer or rebuilder to
perform the same function with respect
to noise control as the replaced part.
For noise-related, add-on, auxiliary,
augmenting, or secondary parts or sys-
tems, a reasonable basis exists if (a) the
installer knows of noise emission tests
which show that the part does not cause
noise emissions to exceed th*e time-of-
sale standards; or (b) the part or sys-
tem manufacturer represents in writing
that tests have been performed with
similar results (to (a) above), or (c) a
Federal, State or local environmental
control agency with appropriate jurisdic-
tion expressly represents that a reason-
able basis exists.
The sections dealing with instructions
for proper maintenance, use, and repair
of the vehicle are intended to insure that
purchasers know exactly what is required
to minimize or eliminate degradation of
the noise level of the vehicle during its
life. These instructions must be both
necessary to reasonably assure nondeg-
radation and reasonable in the burden
placed on purchasers. A record or log-
book must be provided to the ultimate
purchaser in order that the purchaser
may record maintenance performed dur-
ing the life of the product. The instruc-
tions may not contain language which
tends to give the manufacturer or his
dealer an unfair advantage over the
aftermarket. Finally, the regulation pro-
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vides for Agency review of instructions
and related language.
3. SUMMARY OF COMMENTS RECEIVED
The EPA has carefully considered all
of the comments received regarding the
proposed noise emission regulation for
medium and heavy trucks. A discussion
of these comments with the Agency's
response thereto follows. A more detailed
response appears as an Appendix to the
Background Document.
3.1 Technology
3.1.1 Several commenters contended
that the proposed standards could not
be achieved through the application of
the best available technology, as required
by the Act.
EPA considers that the level "achiev-
able through the application of the best
available technology" is the lowest noise
level which can be reliably predicted
based on engineering analysis, that prod-
ucts subject to the standard will be able
to meet by the effective date, through
application of currently known noise
attenuation techniques and materials. In
order to assess what can be achieved,
EPA has (1) identified the sources of
truck noise and the levels to which each
of these sources can be reduced, using
currently known techniques; (2) deter-
mined the level of overall truck noise
that would result; (3) assured that all
such techniques may be applied to the
general truck population; (4) assured
that all such techniques are adaptable
to production-line assembly; (5) assured
that sufficient time is allowed for the
design and application of this technology
by the effective dates of the standards.
The studies done by EPA, as shown in
the Background Document, indicate that
levels as low as 75 dBA could be achieved
by trucks subject to this regulation, given
adequate lead time. However, comments
indicated that the kinds of technology
which we must currently assume would
be applied to achieve levels that low may
impose unreasonable costs. This was not
the case with levels of 80 dBA and above.
Thus, in order to clarify this area of un-
certainty, EPA has elected to continue
investigating costs and technology for
levels below 80 dBA with the intention
of promulgating a more stringent stand-
ard at a later date to take effect in the
post-1982 time period.
3.1.2 One commenter asserted that
EPA has not followed its own definition
of available technology as stated in the
preamble to the proposed regulation, 39
PR 38338 (October 30, 1973).
That statement defined available tech-
nology in part as "Technology applica-
tions that have been demonstrated to be
feasible, as a prototype product upon
which manufacturing may be based."
The comment charged that there was no
such prototype, and therefore the tech-
nology is not available. That definition
suggests that a prototype is one way to
demonstrate the feasibility of a stand-
ard. It may be a prototype of a complete
truck; or it may be a prototype of a
sound attenuation device. There are
many ways of demonstrating the feasi-
bility of a standard which applies to a
multisource product. What is required is
that the means of quieting the noise are
known and that it has been shown that
they are capable of practical application.
Further, it is necessary that these be the
kinds of applications that can be inte-
grated into the normal course of assem-
bly-line production. EPA has done the
analysis necessary to establish these
points. Therefore, these technology ap-
plications have been "demonstrated to
be feasible."
3.2 Health and Welfare
3.2.1 Commenters criticized the pro-
posed regulatory standards as being both
too strict and too lenient.
The Noise Control Act of 1972 requires
the EPA to set standards which are req-
uisite to protect public health and wel-
fare, taking into account the noise re-
duction achievable through the applica-
tion of best available technology, the
magnitude and conditions of use, and
the cost of compliance. The Agency has
identified outdoor day-night sound levels
equal to or less than 55 dB as requisite
to protect public health and welfare with
an adequate margin of safety.
As explained in the Background Doc-
ument, EPA estimates that compliance
with the regulation will reduce the im-
pacted people from urban traffic noise
by 57.9 percent, assuming a 4 dBA reduc-
tion in the noise of other vehicles. Al-
though this represents a significant re-
duction in extensiveness (number of
people impacted) and seventy (magni-
tude of each person's exposure) of exist-
ing urban noise impact, at the same time
it demonstrates that lower levels that
those promulgated here are necessary if
public health and welfare is to be ade-
quately protected.
3.2.2 A number of commenters felt
the assessment of public health and wel-
fare benefits should be improved.
Improvements have been made in the
EPA assessment of the public health and
welfare benefits appearing in the Back-
ground Document. Some of the revisions
-------
include:
1. The treatment of a wider range of
regulatory options,
2. The inclusion of noise contributions
from buses and motorcycles,
3. The consideration of the effect of
the new truck regulations on reducing
the noise levels from noisier trucks more
than initially quieter trucks,
4. Revision of truck engine-related
and tire noise levels,
5. Assessment of the effect of reduc-
tions in the noise levels from vehicles
other than medium and heavy trucks.
The estimates of benefits given by EPA
are believed to be more detailed and ex-
tensive than any of the estimates given
in public comments to the proposed reg-
ulations and provide the best available
information on benefits upon which to
base the selection of regulatory levels.
The assessments of the benefits given
by EPA include estimates of the number
of people impacted by traffic noise, the
extent to which various human activities
are disrupted by the noise, and the relief
from impact associated with the reduc-
tion in traffic noise resulting from sev-
eral possible regulatory options.
3.2.3 Several commenters stated that
an "Environmental Impact Statement"
(EIS) should be issued for this regula-
tion.
The Environmental Protection Agency
is not legally required to accompany its
regulations with an Environmental Im-
pact Statement. However, as of October
15, 1975, the EPA has established the
policy to voluntarily accompany its most
significant proposed regulations with En-
vironmental Impact Statements. Since
this regulation was proposed prior to
that date it was not subject to that
policy, and a draft EIS consequently was
not prepared. The Background Docu-
ment published in support of both the
proposed and this regulation contains a
substantial portion of the Information
which would otherwise be found in an
Environmental Impact Statement.
3.3 Economics
3.3.1 A number of commenters Indi-
cated the benefits below 83 dBA are not
cost effective.
The Act does not require that stand-
ards be set that are cost effective in
terms of return,in benefits for the costs
Incurred. The mandate to EPA In the
Noise Control Act is to set standards nec-
essary to protect public health and wel-
fare, taking into account available tech-
nology and the cost of compliance. How-
ever, based on an extensive analysis un-
dertaken by the Agency of the benefits
and costs for a wide range of regulatory
options, the cost effectiveness of these
regulations is higher than indicated in
public comments. The estimated uniform
annualized* costs for the regulation are
no more than 0.26 percent of the uniform
annualized revenues of the trucking in-
dustry.
Based on assessment of the increase in
truck prices due to compliance with this
noise emission regulation it is estimated
that to meet 83 dBA a 1.0 percent aver-
age increase in price would result and to
meet the 80 dBA standard a 2.8 percent
average increase in price would result.
Regarding estimates of initial price in-
creases, the public comments in the doc-
ket and public hearings identified sig-
nificant differences between EPA and in-
dustry, particularly in the cost associ-
ated with compliance with a 75 dBA
standard for heavy trucks. The Agency
has determined that further analysis of
potential cost increases related to a
standard more stringent than those es-
tablished by this regulation is necessary
and, consequently, has delayed establish-
ment of more stringent noise control
standards.
The cost analysis which has been con-
ducted by the Agency represents a worst
case analysis. The component costs are
based on 1975 technology and do not in-
clude cost reductions that would occur
through application of this technology
to mass production processes. Further,
it can be anticipated that advances in
technology and the production applica-
tion of technology will occur following
the promulgation of this regulation and
will likely result in reductions in the cost
estimates projected at this time by the
Agency.
•Uniform annuallzed costs are the equal
annual annuity payments made on a hypo-
thetical loan borrowed by the user of a
product to pay for the additional annual op-
erating maintenance, and capital expendi-
tures Incurred over the life of the proluct
due to the application of noise abatement
technology. The principal of this hypotheti-
cal loan is equal to the total present value
of these initial and future expenditures.
The Administrator has carefully con-
sidered the costs and economic impact
with respect to the benefits to be derived
as a result of this regulatory action and
Judged them to be reasonable.
3.3.2 Several commenters Indicated
that the costs of the regulation, as pre-
sented by EPA, are too low.
1. Increases in Truck Prices: The dif-
ferences between the estimates of truck
price increases made by the Agency and
-------
the estimates presented by truck manu-
facturers in the public comments on the
proposed regulations are caused by dif-
ferences in (1) the noise treatments con-
sidered necessary to comply with the reg-
ulatory levels and (2) the estimates of
the cost of each unit of noise treatment
hardware.
The EPA estimates of truck price in-
creases are based on specified cost esti-
mates for noise control treatment hard-
ware for cooling, exhaust, engine and air
intake noise treatment for trucks
equipped with gasoline engines and for
trucks equipped with one of twelve diesel
engine models. The cost estimates for
noise control hardware were derived
from three sources, namely: truck man-
ufacturer's estimates, list prices for
hardware currently in production, and
estimates reported in the DOT Quiet
Truck Program.
2. Changes in Operating Costs: The
Agency has presented estimates of
changes in fuel and maintenance costs
for trucks which comply with the regu-
lations. Th«se estimates are based on
documented data from the DOT Quiet
Truck Program. Estimates are made
which include credit for fuel savings
from more efficient fans and fan clutches
and savings in maintenance for exhaust
gas seals. Estimates are also presented
which exclude the above savings.
3. Costs of Testing: The Agency has es-
timated to the degree possible design and
development costs. These costs are diffi-
cult to treat in a generalized manner
since they depend heavily upon the
practices of each individual firm. How-
ever, the following provides insight into
the approximate magnitudes of these
costs. Design costs should be nominal
since, after the appropriate sound atten-
uation elements have been defined via
a development program, what remains is
to properly incorporate them into the
overall vehicle design. This means pro-
viding for the installation of suitable
fans, mufflers, and possibly enclosures.
This class of problems is encountered
during the design of any new model of a
vehicle and inclusion in the design phase
of considerations for noise control com-
ponents is estimated to have little cost
impact.
Conducting a development program
will, however, require a test site, acous-
tical instrumentation and personnel.
Many . manufacturers already possess
acoustic facilities and suitable engineer-
ing personnel. For such organizations,
the development program required for
compliance with the regulations would
simply be a continuation of efforts which
already are in progress. The Agency has
estimated the total annual costs to the
industry of testing as between $155,000
to $230,000. Annual production is esti-
mated at about 4.00,000 vehicles to
which these regulations are applicable.
The costs of testing would, therefore,
be less than $0.60 per vehicle when con-
sidered over the total production.
3.3.3 A number of commenters felt
that EPA should not include fuel sav-
ings from fan clutches in estimating the
operating costs.
The issue has been raised on the basis
that due to rising fuel prices and in-
creased fuel economy resulting from
their use, clutched fans may gain wide-
spread acceptance in the truck market
without the promulgation of these noise
standards. However, a large number of
trucks now being manufactured are not
equipped with demand fans even though
fuel costs have significantly increased
during.the past 2 years. Fuel savings
should not, therefore, be totally ex-
cluded as a benefit of noise control reg-
ulation. EPA, in its cost analysis, has
considered the two cases of (1) crediting
all fuel savings to its regulation result-
ing from the application of demand con-
trolled fans and (2) crediting no fuel
savings to regulation, thus establishing
an upper and lower bound for the costs
associated with the regulation directly
related to potential fuel savings.
In the Background Document accom-
panying this regulation, the costs for the
trucks both with and without fans sav-
ings are presented. The true cost will
fall somewhere between these two cases.
4. CONTINUING AGENCY RESPONSE
TO PUBLIC COMMENTS
As mentioned in the foregoing Agency
responses to public comments, additional
study is required in some areas.
As data is collected by or made avail-
able to the Agency, these regulations will
be revised pursuant to section 6(c) (3) of
the Act. The Agency will assess quiet en-
gine and other noise control technology
development as the standards required
by this regulation are implemented and
will propose lower standards for medium
and heavy trucks for the period beyond
1982, allowing reasonable time for im-
plementation of such standards.
5. DISCUSSION AND DISPOSITION OF SUG-
GESTED CHANGES IN THE PROPOSED REG-
ULATION
The Medium and Heavy Truck Noise
Emission Regulation which is now being
promulgated incorporates several
-------
changes from the proposed regulation
which was published on October 30,1974.
These changes are based upon the public
comments received and the results of ad-
ditional studies performed by the Agency
to assess the impact of the regulation.
In most Instances, changes were made to
merely clarify the intent of the regula-
tion.
5.1 Definition of "Slow Meter Response"
The definition of the "slow meter re-
sponse" has been deleted, since it is not
applicable to the regulation.
5.2 Standards and Dates
EPA's economic analysis and health
and welfare benefits analysis presented
with the proposed regulation have been
comprehensively reviewed and revisions
made based on new or revised informa-
tion. Several options involving different
time sequences and regulatory levels were
developed and carefully analyzed.
Previously the Agency had proposed a
75 dBA standard for the post-1982 pe-
riod, namely January 1,1983. The Agency
has decided not to promulgate a post-
1982 standard at this time. The Agency
has been sued to force early promulga-
tion of a medium and heavy truck regu-
lation. The Agency agrees that standards
should be promptly promulgated for the
1978 and 1982 time frame to permit in-
dustry to move to meet such standards,
thereby providing protection to the pub-
lic health and welfare at the earliest
possible time.
The regulation as proposed has been
delayed in promulgation due to the
Agency's efforts at resolving the uncer-
tainties raised by many commentators
concerning the ability of the Agency to
adequately establish the availability of
technology at reasonable cost for stand-
ards more stringent than 80 dBA for
future years.
Proceeding with standards at this time
for 1978 and 1982 periods, we believe is In
the best public Interest, particularly since
anticipated industry production lead
times for post-1982 would allow time for
further clarifications of these uncertain-
ties and allow for the establishment of
more stringent standards within the de-
sired time frame. To indicate clearly the
Intent of the Agency to establish more
stringent standards in the post-1982 pe-
riod, a section in the regulations has been
specifically reserved therefor.
The effective date of the 83 dBA noise
level standard has been changed from
January 1, 1977 to January 1, 1978 and
the 80 dBA noise level standard effective
date has been changed from January 1,
1981 to January 1, 1982. This Is occa-
sioned by the unexpected delay In pro-
mulgating the regulation from the time
anticipated in the proposed rulemaklng.
This extension of the effective dates pro-
vides the industry with the requisite lead
times, as described in the Background
Document to this regulation, to comply
with the standards with no industry
disruption while minimizing the costs
and economic Impacts of applying the
required noise control technology.
The extension of the effective dates win
only delay by a corresponding length of
time the health and welfare benefits
which would otherwise be attained with
the earlier effective dates for the similar
noise levels, but will not otherwise change
the resulting benefits.
5.3 Production Tolerances
Production tolerances were considered
In setting the regulatory standards in the
Notice of Proposed Rule Making and
have again been considered in setting the
final standards. These tolerances were
taken into account in determining the
economic Impact of this regulation. After
careful consideration, the Administrator
determined that the standards should re-
main on a not-to-exceed basis, as origi-
nally proposed.
5.4 Calibration
The proposed regulation required a
complete calibration of the entire sound
measurement system to be made annu-
ally. It is considered that this is a mini-
mum requirement and in the final regu-
lation, the calibration has been required
on at least an annual basis and as fre-
quently as is necessary during the annual
period. It is left to the complying parties
as to how often calibration is necessary
to ensure the validity of then- test data.
5.5 Ambient Noise Levels
The proposed regulation required that
the ambient noise be at least 10 dBA
below test vehicle noise. It has been sug-
gested that this difference be made
greater than 10 dBA. Calculations
showed less than V2 dB variation when
the difference between levels is 10 db or
more. Consequently, the Ambient Level/
Test Vehicle Level difference was left un-
changed from 10 dBA.
5.6 Automatic Transmissions
The Agency test procedure as proposed,
and the similar SAE J366 test procedure,
do not assure that, during testing, the
maximum engine noise is generated by
vehicles equipped with automatic trans-
10
-------
missions. A minor technical modification
to the test procedure to deal with this
problem has, therefore, been incorpo-
rated in the final regulation by the
Agency. Technical comments received re-
garding the test procedures indicate no
objections as to validity of the test re-
sults obtained using this procedure.
5.7 Averaging the Two Highest Data
Points
The proposed regulation required that
the two highest data points on each side
of the test vehicle be averaged and re-
ported as the results of the test. It has
been suggested that this procedure pro-
duces results which are higher than levels
typically produced by the vehicle. The
procedure has been changed to allow two
levels within 2 dB of each other to be
used as the measured level on each side.
5.8 Cetane Ratings and Test Results
The cetane rating of the fuel used
during testing of diesel engines may
affect the noise levels generated. For ex-
ample, a naturally aspirated truck using
fuel with a cetane rating of 50 may be
measured at 2.4 dBA lower noise emis-
sions than the same truck using fuel
with a cetane rating of 42. The normal
cetane range for type 2D diesel fuel, the
most common, is 42 to 50. A turbocharged
truck may vary as much as 1.2 dBA.
Therefore, an addition has been made
to the regulation specifying the range
of 42-50 cetane rating, thereby prevent-
ing the use of very high quality fuel in
testing noisy trucks and ensuring that
the range of possible variation is limited
to 2.4 dBA for compliance testing. This
range maintains consistence with other
requirements imposed by EPA in the
gaseous emissions regulation. This range
does not limit significantly the avail-
ability of diesel fuel for testing. It is the
most common range of cetane ratings for
diesel fuel and can be obtained from
virtually every distributor. No changes
in testing costs are expected to result
from this change to the proposed regula-
tion.
5.9 Allowing the Demand Actuated Fan
To Be Disengaged During Vehicle
Testing
At the present time, demand actuated
fans typically require the fan to operate
less than 6 percent of the time. The fact
that the fan operates only when it is
needed results in significant fuel savings.
From a fuel savings standpoint alone,
there is an incentive to minimize fan
operation time. However, some concerns
have been raised that exempting the de-
mand actuated fans from testing may
lead to the installation of products in-
ferior to those presently on the market
in order to avoid the intent of the reg"ola-
tion. In order to encourage the use of
demand actuated fans, the Administrator
has decided that fan clutches may be dis-
engaged during compliance testing. If
our studies and compliance information
indicate the intent of the regulation Is
being circumvented, appropriate re-
visions to this regulation will be rapidly
implemented.
5.10 Useful Life Standard
As it appeared in the proposed regula-
tion, the standard for medium and heavy
trucks was to extend over the useful life
of the vehicle. The intent behind this re-
quirement was to ensure that the public
health and welfare benefits derived from
the medium and heavy truck standard
would be fully achieved over time. The
Agency maintains that products which
meet emission standards developed to
protect public health and welfare should
continue to meet those standards during
the products' life. However, where degra-
dation cannot be reasonably prevented
through periodic preventive maintenance
and repair, standards may include a
degradation allowance.
Currently, only limited data are avail-
able te reasonably determine whether
and to what degree the noise from a
properly maintained and repaired me-
dium and heavy truck would degrade in
time. Accordingly, the Agency is reserving
a section for useful life requirements in
the regulation and win defer action on
setting a useful life standard until suf-
ficient data are collected on which to base
a standard. The delay In promulgating
a useful life standard should not be
construed as a deemphasis of this re-
quirement, but merely as a means to as-
sure that an accurate and reasonable
useful life requirement may be Imposed.
5.11 Enforcement Program
Comments were received which related
to many aspects of the proposed enforce-
ment program, including testing, moni-
toring and inspecting. After considering
the comments carefully, EPA has revised
the program significantly' to make It more
streamlined, fair and flexible. These
comments and changes are discussed in
detail in the Background Document.
Specifically, the following modifica-
tions were made:
5.11.1 Inspections and data acquisi-
tion have been limited to that informa-
tion necessary for the Administrator to
determine whether the manufacturer
11
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has been or is distributing into commerce
conforming products.
5.11.2 Notice and opportunity for
hearing has been provided for in all cases
where recall or cease to-distribute orders
are to be Issued.
5.11.3 Portions of the regulation
which limited the right of counsel in any
way have been deleted.
5.11.4 Provisions hi the proposal re-
quiring personal appearance of employ-
ees before EPA Enforcement Officers
have been deleted.
5.11.5 Information recording and
reporting requirements have been re-
vised to make them quicker and simpler.
5.11.6 The regulation has been
amended to allow automatic conditional
waiver of the production verification re-
quirement for up to 45 days to allow
distribution of vehicles where inclement
weather has delayed testing.
5.11.7 The requirement of ten days'
advance notice of intent to test has been
deleted.
5.11.8 The regulation has been
amended to allow a manufacturer to pro-
duction verify selected configurations in
any order he desires.
5.11.9 The definitions of category and
configuration have been changed so as
to significantly reduce the number of
defining parameters and reduce the
number of categories that would require
testing.
5.11.10 The requirement that tamper-
ing information be provided to the Ad-
ministrator 90 days before distribution
has been reduced to 30 days.
5.11.11 The requirement that the
manufacturer submit information on
noise-related performance specifications
has been deleted.
5.11.12 The batch determination for
8EA testing purposes will be based to
the extent practicable, on build rate in-
formation submitted pursuant to a re-
quest for production information, or-
dered under 205.53(b).
5.11.13 Provision has been made to
allow a manufacturer to petition the
agency for review of agency modifica-
tions to the manufacturer's suggested
maintenance instructions.
6. IMPACT OF THE REGULATION
Using data and information accrued to
develop the proposed regulation, comple-
mented by additional technological and
economic data and information made
available to the Agency during the pub-
lic comment periods, the Agency re-
evaluated the impact of the medium and
heavy truck regulation being promul-
gated. Summarized below are the im-
pacts anticipated.
6.1 Public Health and Welfare
It is estimated that over 98.3 million
people are exposed to urban transporta-
tion noise levels that are in excess of Ldn
55. Ldn 55 is the level EPA has identified
as protective of public health and wel-
fare with an adequate margin of safety.
Compliance with the new truck regula-
tion in combination with other vehicle
noise control regulations will result in a
reduction in the extensiveness (number
of people impacted) and severity (mag-
nitude of each person's exposure) of cur-
rent noise impact by 30.0 percent in 1982,
55.2 percent in 1991, and 57.9 percent
by the year 2001. Further, compliance
with the new truck regulatfon along'with
the regulation of portable air compressor
noise at 76 dBA (measured at 7 meters),
could produce a combined reduction in
construction site noise impact severity in
the order of 33 to 43 percent.
In terms of the actual number of peo-
ple receiving benefits from the medium
and heavy truck regulation being pro-
mulgated, the regulation will have the
direct effect on reducing the impact of
urban traffic noise for 98.3 million people
and of construction site noise for 27.4
million people.
6.2 Cost and Economic Impacts
The uniform annualized cost is esti-
mated by the Agency to be $225 million
when no credit for fuel saving, due to the
application of thermostatically con-
trolled fan clutches and efficient fan de-
signs, is credited to the regulation. If
credit for the fuel savings resulting from
the application of these fan noise treat-
ments is accrued to the truck noise con-
trol regulation, the result'ng "cost" is in
fact a uniform annualized "saving" of
$523 million. The costs as reported, have
been developed as worst case costs for
quieting existing trucks to a level which
meets the standards which incorporating
an adequate quality control margin to
assure compliance by the manufacturer.
These costs assume no improvements
in technology, design'or application in
quantity in the production of trucks.
With improvements in technology and
with mass production it is estimated that
the above costs may be further reduced
by up to 50 to-60 percent.
Truck list price increases are expected
not to exceed those shown in the follow-
ing table:
12
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Increase in truclc prices due to noine controls 6j/ type of truck
Type of truck
83dBA
SOdBA
Price increase Percent increase Price increase Percent incrcaw
Heavy, gasoline -- .. .- ._
Mprfinm, dipspl
$35
125
- -. . 426
356
0 6
1.1
5.8
1.4
$180
255
8.50
589
3.1
2.2
11.6
2.3
7. FUTURE INTENT
The Agency is pursuing a strategy
through which major contributors to
surface transportation noise will be
identified and subsequently regulated. A
coordinated approach is necessary be-
cause of the multitude of transportation
vehicular sources which may be operat-
ing at the same time and the quieting of
only one type vehicle will not in itself be
sufficient to adequately reduce the noise
to a level the Agency believes required to
protect the public health and welfare.
As indicated in the EPA Identification
of Major Sources of Noise Report (39 FB
22297-99. June 21, 1974), the principal
candidates for future regulatory efforts
are known. On May 28,1975, the Agency
Identified the following pieces of surface
transportation equipment as major
sources of noise: buses and motorcycles
(40 FB 23105). Regulatory development
is well underway to establish noise con-
trol standards for these two products.
The levels chosen for the standards in
this rulemaking are consistent with the
overall requirements to quiet all vehicles
In order to ultimately quiet overall traf-
fic noise.
The Agency also intends to commence
regulatory action on other surface
transportation equipment in the near
future. These further actions will in-
clude separate rulemaking procedures
for tires and a revision to the interstate
motor carrier regulations (39 PR 38208-
216, October 29, 1974) requiring newly
manufactured medium and heavy trucks
to maintain a specified noise emission
level while operated by motor carriers
engaged in interstate commerce.
8. BACKGROUND DOCUMENT
Notice of the availability of the Docu-
ment entitled "Background Document for
Proposed Medium and Heavy Truck
Noise Emission Regulations" was pub-
lished in the FEDERAL REGISTER on Octo-
ber 30, 1974 (39 FR 38338). This docu-
ment has been substantially revised and
provides the basis for the standards es-
tablished by this rulemaking. This new
document is entitled "Background Docu-
ment for Medium and Heavy Truck
Noise Emission Regulations." It is quite
lengthy, and it would be impractical to
publish it in its entirety in the FEDERAL
REGISTER. Copies may be obtained from
the EPA Public Information Center
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Sec.
205.56 Testing by the administrator.
205.57 Selective enforcement auditing
requirements.
205.57-1 Test request.
205.57-2 Test vehicle sample selection.
205.57-3 Test vehicle preparation.
205.57-4 Testing procedures.
205.57-5 Beporting of the test results.
205.57-6 Acceptance and rejection of
batches.
205.57-7 Acceptance and rejection of batch
sequence.
205.57-8 Continued testing.
205.57-9 Prohibition on distribution in
commerce; manufacturer's rem-
edy.
205.58 In-use requirements.
206.58-1 Warranty.
205.68-2 Tampering.
205.58-3 Instructions for maintenance, use
and repair.
205.59 Recall of noncomplying vehicles.
APPENDIX I
AUTHORITY: Sec. 6, 10, 11, 13, Pub. L. 92-
574, 86 Stat. 1234 (42 UJ3.C. 4905, 4909, 4910,
4912).
Subpart A—General Provisions
§ 203.1 General applicability.
The provisions of this subpart are ap-
plicable to all products for which regula-
tions have been published under this part
and which are manufactured after the
effective date of such regulations.
§ 205.2 Definitions.
(a) As used In this subpart, all terms
not denned herein shall have the mean-
ing given them in the Act.
(1) "Act" means the Noise Control Act
of 1972 (PL 92-574, 86 Stat, 1234).
(2) "Administrator" means the Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency or his authorized repre-
sentative.
(3) "Agency" means the United States
Environmental Protection Agency.
(4) "Export exemption" means an ex-
emption from the prohibitions of section
10(a) (1), (2), (3), and (4) of the Act,
granted by statute under section 10 (b)
(2) of the Act for the purpose of export-
ing regulated products.
(5) "National security exemption"
means an exemption from the prohibi-
tions of section 10(a) (1), (2), (3), and
(5) of the Act, which may be granted un-
der section 10(b) (1) of the Act for the
purpose of national security.
(6) "Pre-verification exemption"
means a testing exemption which is ap-
plicable to products manufactured prior
to product verification and required un-
der any section of this part, and use by
a manufacturer from year to year in the
ordinary course of business, for product
development, production method assess-
ment, and market promotion purposes,
but in a manner not involving lease or
sale.
(7) "Sound Level" means 20 times the
logarithm to base 10 of the ratio of pres-
sure of a sound to the reference pres-
sure. The reference pressure is 20 micro-
pascals (20 micronewtons per square me-
ter). NOTE: Unless otherwise explicitly
stated, it is to be understood that the
sound pressure Is the effective (nns)
sound pressure, per American National
Standards Institute, Inc., 1430 Broadway,
New York, New York 10018.
(8) "Sound Pressure Level" means in
decibels, 20 times the logarithm to the
base 10 of the ratio of a sound pressure
to the reference sound pressure of 20
micropascals (20 micronewtons per
square meter). In the absence of any
modifier, the level Is understood to be
that of a root-mean-square pressure.
The unit of any sound level is the decibel,
having the unit symbol dB.
(9) "dB(A)" means the standard ab-
breviation for A-weighted sound levels
In decibels.
(10) "Highway" means the streets,
roads, and public ways in any State.
(11) "Fast Meter Response" means
that the fast dynamic response of the
sound level meter shall be used. The fast
dynamic response shall comply with the
meter dynamic characteristics In para-
graph 5.3 of the American National
Standard Specification for Sound Level
Meters, ANSI SI.4-1971. This publication
is available from the American National
Standards Institute, Inc., 1430 Broad-
way, New York, New York 10018.
(12) "Person" means an Individual,
corporation, partnership, or association,
and except as provided in sections ll(e)
and 12 (a) of the Act includes any officer,
employee, department, agency or Instru-
mentality of the United States, a State
or any political subdivision of a State.
(13) "Reasonable assistance" means
providing timely and unobstructed access
to test products or products and records
required by this part, and opportunity
for copying such records or testing such
test products.
(14) "Ultimate purchaser" means the
first person who in good faith purchases
a product for purposes other than re-
sale.
(15) "New product" means (a) a prod-
uct the equitable or legal title of which
has never been transferred to an ulti-
mate purchaser, or (b) a product which
Is imported or offered for importation
14
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Into the United States and which Is
manufactured after the effective date of
a regulation under section 6 or section 8
which would have been applicable to
such product had it been manufactured
in the United States.
(16) "Manufacturer" means any per-
son engaged In the manufacturing or as-
sembling of new products, or the import-
ing of new products for resale, or who
acts for and is controlled by any such
person in connection with the distribu-
tion of such products.
(17) "Commerce" means trade, traffic,
commerce, or transportation:
(i) Between a place hi a State and any
place outside thereof, or
(ii) Which affects trade, traffic, com-
merce, or transportation described in
subparagraph (i).
(18) "Distribute in commerce" means
sell in, offer for sale in, or introduce or
deliver for introduction into, commerce,
(19) "State" includes the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Sa-
moa, Guam, and the Trust Territory of
the Pacific Islands.
(20) "Federal Agency" means an execu-
tive agency (as denned in section 105 of
Title 5, United States Code) and includes
the United States Postal Service.
(21) "Environmental noise" means the
intensity, duration, and the character of
sounds from all sources.
(22) "Warranty" means the warranty
required by § 6(c) (1) of the Act.
(23) "Tampering" means those acts
prohibited by £ 10(a) (2) of the Act.
(24) "Maintenance instructions" or
"instructions" means those instructions
for maintenance, use, and repair, which
the Administrator is authorized to re-
quire pursuant to section 6(c) (1) of the
Act.
(25) "Type I Sound Level Meter"
means a sound level meter which meets
the Type I requirements of ANSI SI.4-
1972 specification for sound level meters.
This publication is available from the
American National Standards Institute,
Inc., 1430 Broadway, New York, New
York 10018.
(26) "Testing exemption" means an
exemption from the prohibitions of sec-
tion 10(a) (1), (2), (3), and (5) of the
Act, which may be granted under section
10 (b) (1) of the Act for the purpose of
research, investigations, studies, demon-
strations, or training, but not Including
national security where lease or sale of
the exempted product is involved.
(27) "Product" means any transporta-
tion equipment for which regulations
have been promulgated under this part
and includes "test product."
(28) "Test product" means any prod-
uct that is required to be tested pursuant
to this part
§ 205.3 Number and gender.
As used in this part, words In the
singular shall be deemed to Import tho
plural, and words In the mascuHn*
gender shall be deemed to Import tbt
feminine and vice versa, as the case majr
require,
§ 205,4 Inspection and monitoring.
(a) Any inspecting or monitoring ac-
tivities conducted under this section
shall be for the purpose of determining
(1) whether required records are being
properly, maintained, (2) whether test
products are being selected and prepared
for testing in accordance with the pro-
visions of these regulations, (3) whether
test product testing is being conducted in
accordance with these regulations, and
(4) whether products being produced for
distribution into commerce are as de-
scribed in the production verification
report.
(b) Any manufacturer subject to regu-
lation under this part shall admit or
cause to be admitted any Environmental
Protection Agency (hereafter, EPA) En-
forcement Officer during operating hours
upon demand after having received 24
hour prior notification except as pro-
vided for by paragraph (e) of this sec-
tion, and upon presentation of creden-
tials and authorization in writing signed
by the Director, Mobile Source Enforce-
ment Division or his designee to any of
the following:
(1) Any facility or site where any
product to be distributed into commerce
is manufactured, assembled, or stored;
(2) Any facility or site where any
tests conducted pursuant to this part or
any procedures or activities connected
with such tests are or were performed:
(3) Any facility or site where any test
product is present; and
(4) Any facility or site where records,
reports, other documents or information
required to be maintained or provided to
the Administrator are located.
(c) (1) Upon admission to any facility
or site referred to in paragraph (b) of
this section, any EPA Enforcement Offi-
cer shall be allowed:
(i) To inspect and monitor test prod-
uct manufacture and assembly, selec-
tion, storage, preconditioning, noise
emission testing, and maintenance, and
to verify correlation or calibration of
test equipment;
15
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(ii) To inspect products prior to their
distribution in commerce;
(iii) To inspect and make copies of
any records, reports, documents, or in-
formation required to be maintained or
provided to the Administrator under the
Act;
(iv) To inspect and photograph any
part or aspect of any such product and
any component used in the assembly
thereof that are reasonably related to
the purpose of his entry.
(2) Any EPA Enforcement Officer
shall be furnished by those in charge of
a facility or site being inspected with
such reasonable assistance as he may re-
quest to help him discharge any function
listed in this section. A manufacturer is
required to cause those in charge of a
facility or site operated for its benefit to
furnish such reasonable assistance with
out charge to EPA whether or not it con-
trols the facUity.
(3) The duty to admit or cause to be
admitted any EPA Enforcement Officer
applies whether the facility or site Is
owned or controlled by the manufacturer
or by one who acts for the manufacturer
and applies both to domestic and foreign
manufacturers' facilities and sites. EPA
will not attempt to make any inspections
which it has been informed that foreign
law forbids. However, if foreign law
makes it impossible to do what is neces-
sary to ensure the accuracy of data gen-
erated at a facility, no informed judg-
ment that a product has been properly
tested in accordance with these regula-
tions can properly be based on that data.
It is the responsibility of the manufac-
turer to locate its testing and manufac-
turing facilities and sites in jurisdictions
where this situation will not arise.
(d) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Presentation of credentials" shall
mean display of the document designat-
ing 'a person as an EPA Enforcement
Officer.
(2) Where test product storage areas
or facilities are concerned, "operating
hours" shall mean all times during which
personnel other than custodial personnel
are at work hi the vicinity of the area or
facility and have access to it.
(3) Where facilities or areas other
than those covered by paragraph (d) (2)
of this section are concerned "operating
hours" shall mean all times during which
product manufacture or assembly is in
operation or all times during which prod-
uct testing and maintenance is taking
place and/or production or compilation
of records is taking place, or any other
procedure or activity related to produc-
tion verification testing, selective en-
forcement audit testing or product
manufacture or assembly being carried
out in a facility.
(e) Any entry without 24 hour prior
written or oral notification to the affected
manufacturer shall be authorized in
writing by the Assistant Administrator
for Enforcement.
(f) (1) Pursuant to Section ll(d)d)
of the Act, the Administrator may issue
an order to the manufacturer to cease
the distribution in commerce of particu-
lar products being manufactured at a
particular facility if:
(i) Any EPA Enforcement Officer is
denied the access required in paragraph
(b) and (c) of this section.
(ii) Any EPA Enforcement Officer is
denied "reasonable assistance" (as de-
nned in §205.2(a)(13)).
(2) The sanction of issuing an order
to cease distribution of products into
commerce may be imposed for the rea-
sons in subparagraph (i) and/or (ii) of
this paragraph only when the infraction
is substantial.
(3) Any such order shall be issued
only after notice and opportunity for a
hearing.
§ 205.5 Exemptions.
§ 205.5—1 Who may request an exemp-
tion.
Any manufacturer may request an
exemption provided by this subpart or
exempt products as provided by § 205.5-5.
§ 205.5-2 Testing exemption.
(a) Any manufacturer requesting a
testing exemption must demonstrate that
the proposed test program:
(1) Has a purpose which constitutes
an appropriate basis for an exemption
in accordance with section 10(b)(l) of
the Act;
(2) Necessitates the granting of an
exemption;
<3) Exhibits reasonableness in scope:
and
(4) Exhibits a degree of control con-
sonant with the purpose of the program
and the EPA's monitoring requirements.
Paragraphs (b), (c), (d), and (e) below
describe what constitutes a sufficient
demonstration for each of the four above
identified elements.
(b) With respect to the purpose of tiie
proposed test program, an appropriate
purpose is one which is consistent with
one or more of the bases for exemption
set forth under section 10(b) (1) of the
Act, namely research, investigations.
studies, demonstrations, or training, but
not including national security (see
16
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§ 205.5-4). A concise statement of pur-
pose is a required item of information.
(c) With respect to the necessity that
an exemption be granted, necessity
arises from an inability to achieve the
stated purpose in a practicable manner
without performing a prohibited act
under sections 10(a) (1), (2), (3), or (5)
of the Act. In appropriate circumstances
time constraints may be sufficient basis
for necessity.
(d) With respect to reasonableness, a
test program must exhibit a duration of
reasonable length and affect a reason-
able number of products. In this regard.
required items of information include:
(1) An estimate of the program's du-
ration;
(2) The absolute number of products
involved;
(3) The duration of the test;
(4) The ownership arrangement with
regard to the products Involved in the
test;
(5) The Intended final disposition of
the products;
(6) The means or procedure whereby
test results will be recorded.
(c) Paragraph (a) of this section ap-
plies irrespective of the product's place
of manufacture.
§ 205.5-3 Pre-verification exemption*.
Section 205.5-2 does not apply for pre-
veriflcation products. In such cases, a
request for exemption is necessary; how-
ever, the only information required i.«
a statement setting forth the genera!
nature of the pre-veriflcation products
program, the number of products in-
volved and a. demonstration that ade-
quate record-keeping procedures for the
control purposes will be employed.
§ 205.5—1 National security exemptions.
A manufacturer requesting a national
security exemption must state the pur-
pose for which the exemption is required
and the request must be endorsed by
an agency of the Federal government
charged with responsibility for national
defense.
§ 205.5—5 Export exemption*.
(a) A new product intended solely for
export, and so labeled or marked on the
outside of the container and on the prod-
uct itself, shall be exempt from the pro-
hibitions of section 10(a), (1), (2), (3),
and (4) of the Act.
(b) No request for an export exemp-
tion is required.'
(c) It is a condition of an export ex-
emption under section 10 (b) (2) that
such exemption shall be void ab Initlo
with respect to each new product in-
tended solely for export which is distrib-
uted in commerce for use in any State.
(d) Any manufacturer or person sub-
ject to the liabilities of section 11 (a)
with respect to any product, originally
intended for export, but distributed in
commerce for use in any State, may be
excluded from the application of sec-
tion 11 (a) with respect to such product
based upon a showing that such manu-
facturer:
(1) Had no knowledge of such prod-
uct being distributed in commerce for
use in any state; and
(2) Made reasonable efforts to ensure
that such products would not be distrib-
uted in commerce for use in any State.
Such reasonable efforts would include
investigation, prior dealings, contract
provisions, etc.
§ 205.5—6 Granting of exemptions.
(a) If upon completion of the review
of an exemption request, the granting of
an exemption Is deemed appropriate, a
memorandum of exemption will be pre-
pared and submitted to the manufacturer
requesting the exemption. The memo-
randum will set forth the basis for the
exemption, its scope, and such terms
and conditions as are deemed neces-
sary to protect the public health and
welfare. Such terms and conditions will
generally include, but are not limited to,
agreements by the applicant to con-
duct the exempt activity in the manner
described to EPA, create and maintain
adequate records accessible to EPA at
reasonable times, employ labels for the
exempt products setting forth the na-
ture of the exemption, take appropri-
ate measures to assure that the terms
of the exemption are met, and advise
EPA of the termination of the activity
and the ultimate disposition of the prod-
ucts. EPA may limit the scope of any
exemption by placing restrictions on
time, location and duration. EPA may
also withdraw the exemption at any
time based upon information that the
public health and welfare is being
endangered.
-------
this exemption shall constitute a viola-
tion of section 10(a) (1) and (3) of the
Act, and shall render the manufacturer
to whom the exemption is granted and
any other person to whom the provisions
of section 10 are applicable, liable to
sanction under sections 11 and 12 of the
Act.
§ 205.5—7 Submission of exemption re-
quest.
Bequests for exemption or further in-
formation concerning exemptions and/
or the exemption request review proce-
dure should be addressed to:
Director, Mobile Source Enforcement Divi-
sion (EN340), US. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency, 401 M Street SW., Washing-
ton, D.O. 20460.
Subpart B—Medium and Heavy Trucks
§ 205.50 Applicability.
(a) Except as otherwise provided for
In these regulations the provisions of this
subpart apply to any vehicle which has
a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) in
excess of 10,000 pounds, which is capable
of transportation of property on a high-
way or street and which meets the defi-
nition of the term "new product" in the
Act.
(b) The provisions of the subpart do
not apply to highway, city, and school
buses or to special purpose equipment
which may be located on or operated
from vehicles. Tests performed on vehi-
cles containing such equipment may be
carried out with the special purpose
equipment In nonoperating condition.
For purposes of this regulation special
purpose equipment includes, but is not
limited to, construction equipment, snow
plows, garbage compactors and refrig-
eration equipment.
§ 205.51 Definitions.
(a) As used In this subpart, all terms
not denned herein shall have the mean-
Ing given them in the Act or in other
subparts of this part.
(1) "Acceptable Quality Level" means
the maximum percentage of failing vehi-
cles that for purposes of sampling In-
spection, can be considered satisfactory
as a process average.
(2) "Acceptance of a batch" means
that the number of noncomplying vehi-
cles in the batch sample is less than or
equal to the acceptance number as de-
termined by the appropriate sampling
plan.
(3) "Batch" means the collection of
vehicles of the same category or config-
uration as designated by the Administra-
tor in a test request, from which a batch
sample is to be randomly drawn, and
inspected to determine conf ormance with
the acceptability criteria.
(4) "Batch size" means the number as
designated by the Administrator in the
test request of vehicles of the same cate-
gory or configuration in a batch.
(5) "Batch sample" means the collec-
tion of vehicles of the same category or
configuration which are randomly drawn
from a batch from which test samples
are randomly drawn.
(6) "Batch sample size" means the
number of vehicles of the same category
or configuration in a batch sample.
(7) "Cab over axle" or "cab over en^
gine" means the cab which contains the
operator/passenger compartment is di-
rectly above the engine and front axle
and the entire cab can be tilted forward
to permit access to the engine compart-
ment.
(8) "Category" means a group of ve-
hicle configurations which are identical
in all material aspects with respect to the
parameters listed in § 205.55-3.
(9) "Configuration" means the basic
classification unit of a manufacturer's
product line and is comprised of all ve-
hicle designs, models or series which are
identical in material aspects with respect
to the parameters listed in § 205.55-2 of
this subpart.
(10) "Acceptance of a Batch sequence"
means that the number of rejected
batches in the sequence is less than or
equal to the acceptance number as de-
termined by the appropriate sampling
plan.
(11) "Rejection of a Batch sequence"
means that the number of rejected
batches in a sequence is equal to or
greater than the rejection number as
determined by the appropriate sampling
plan.
(12) "Capable of Transportation of
Property on a street or highway" means
that the vehicle:
(1) Is self propelled and is capable of
transporting any material or fixed ap-
paratus, or Is capable of drawing a
trailer or semi-trailer;
(ii) Is capable of maintaining a cruis-
ing speed of at least 25 mph over level,
paved surface;
(iii) Is equipped or can readily be
equipped with features customarily asso-
ciated with practical street or highway
use, such f eatures including but not being
limited to: a reverse gear and a differen-
tial, fifth wheel, cargo platform or cargo
enclosure, and
(iv) Does not exhibit features which
18
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render its use on a street or highway Im-
practical, or highly unlikely, such fea-
tures Including, but not being limited to,
tracked road means, an Inordinate size
or features ordinarily associated with
combat or tactical vehicles.
(13) "Exhaust System" means the sys-
tem comprised of a combination of com-
ponents which provides for enclosed flow
of exhaust gas from engine exhaust port
to the atmosphere.
(14) "Gross Combination Weight
Rating" (GCWR) means the value speci-
fied by the manufacturer as the loaded
weight of a combination vehicle.
(15) "Gross Vehicle Weight Rating"
(GVWR) means the value specified by
the manufacturer as the loaded weight
of a single vehicle.
(16) "Inspection Criteria" means the
rejection and acceptance numbers asso-
ciated with a particular sampling plan.
(17) "Model year" means the manu-
facturer's annual production period
which includes January 1 of such cal-
endar year: Provided, that if the manu-
facturer has no annual production pe-
riod, the term "model year" shall mean
the calendar year.
(18) "Noise Control System" Includes
any vehicle part, component or system
the primary purpose of which Is to con-
trol or cause the reduction of nolsa
emitted from a vehicle.
(19) "Jloise emission test" means a test
conducted pursuant to the measurement
methodology specified in this subpart.
(20) "Production verification vehicle"
means any vehicle selected for testing,
tested or verified pursuant to the pro-
duction verification requirements of this
subpart.
(21) "Rejection of a batch" means the
number of noncomplying vehicles in the
batch sample is greater than or equal to
the rejection number as determined by
the appropriate sampling plan.
(22) "Shift" means the regular pro-
duction work period for one group of
workers.
(23) "Test sample" means the collec-
tion of vehicles from the same category
or configuration which is randomly
drawn from the batch sample and which
will receive noise emissions tests.
(24) "Failing vehicle" means that the
measured emissions of the vehicle, when
measured in accordance with the appli-
cable procedure, exceeds the applicable
standard.
(25) "Acceptance of a vehicle" means
that the measured emissions of the ve-
hicle when measured in accordance with
the applicable procedure, conforms to
the applicable standard.
f26) "Tampering" means those acts
prohibited by section 10(a) (2) of the
Act.
(27) "Test sample size" means the
number of vehicles of the same category
or configuration In a test sample.
(28) "Test Vehicle" means a vehicle
in a test sample or & production verifi-
cation vehicle.
(29) "Vehicle" means any motor ve-
hicle, machine or tractor propelled by
mechanical power, with a gross vehicle
weight rating in excess of 10,000 pounds,
capable of transportation of property on
a street or highway, and includes a par-
tially or fully enclosed operator's com-
partment.
§ 205.52 Vehicle noise emission stand-
ards.
(a) Low Speed Sound Emission Stand-
ard. Vehicles which are manufactured
after the following effective dates, shall
be designed, built and equipped so that
they will not produce sound emissions
In excess of the levels indicated.
Effective date Level
(1) Jan. 1,1978 83dBA.
(11) Jan. 1.1982 80 dBA.
(Ill) Jan. 1,1985 [Reserved].
(b) The standards set forth to para-
graph (a) of this section refer'to the
sound emissions as measured in accord-
ance with the procedures prescribed in
§ 205.54-1,2.
(c) Every manufacturer of a new mo-
tor vehicle subject to the standards pre-
scribed in this paragraph shall, prior to
taking any of the actions specified In
section 10(a)(l) of the Act, comply
with the other provisions of this subpart
of Subpart A, as applicable.
(d) In-0se Standard [Reserved]
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other than those contained In these
regulations used to perform noise tests
on any test vehicle.
(iii) A record of the calibration of the
acoustical instrumentation as is required
by § 205.54.
(2) Individual records for test ve-
hicles: (i) A complete record of all noise
emission tests performed (except tests
performed by EPA directly), including
all individual worksheets and/or other
documentation relating to each test, or
exact copies thereof.
(ii) A record and description of all
repairs, maintenance and other serv-
icing performed, giving the date and
time of the maintenance or service, the
reason for it, the person authorizing it,
and the names of supervisory personnel
responsible for the conduct of the main-
tenance or service.
(3) A properly filed production veri-
fication report following the format pre-
scribed by the Administrator fulfills the
requirements of paragraph (a) (1) (i),
(ii), (iii) and (a) (2) (i) of this section.
(4) All records required to be main-
tained under this part shall be retained
by the manufacturer for a period of
three (3) years from the production
verification date. Records may be re-
tained as hard copy or alternatively re-
duced to microfilm, punch cards, etc.,
depending on the record retention pro-
cedures of the manufacturer; however,
all of the information contained in the
hard copy shall be retained in the alter-
native method if this method is used.
(b) The manufacturer shall, pursu-
ant to a request made by the Adminis-
trator, submit to the Administrator the
following Information with regard to
new vehicle production:
(1) number of vehicles, by category
or configuration, scheduled for produc-
tion for the time period designated in
the request.
(2) number of vehicles, by category
or configuration, produced during the
time period designated in the request.
§ 205.54 Test procedures.
The procedures described in this and
subsequent sections will be the test pro-
gram to determine the conformity of
vehicles with the standards set forth in
{ 205.52.
§ 205.54—1 Low speed sound emission
lest procedures.
(a) Instrumentation. The following
instrumentation shall be used, where
applicable.
(1) A sound level meter which meets
the Type 1 requirements of ANSI SI.4-
1971, Specification for Sound Level
Meters, or a sound level meter may-be
used with a magnetic tape recorder and/
or a graphic level recorder or indicating
meter, providing the system meets the
requirements of § 205.54-2.
(2) A sound level calibrator. The cali-
brator shall produce a sound pressure
level, at the microphone diaphragm, that
is known to within an accuracy of ±0.5
dB. The calibrator shall be checked an-
nually to verify that its output has not
changed.
(3) An engine-speed tachometer
which is accurate within ±2 percent of
meter reading.
(4) An anemometer or other device
for measurement of ambient wind speed
accurate within ±10 percent.
(5) A thermometer for measurement
of ambient temperature accurate within
±1 C.
(6) A barometer for measurement of
ambient pressure accurate within ±1
percent.
(b) (1) The test site shall be such that
the truck radiates sound into a free field
over a reflecting plane. This condition
may Se considered fulfilled if the test
site consists of an open space free of
large reflecting surfaces, such as parked
vehicles, signboards, buildings or hill-
sides, located within 100 feet (30.4
meters) of either the vehicle path or
(2) The microphone shall be located
50 feet ±4 in. (15-2=1:0.1 meter) from
the centerline of truck travel and 4 feet
±4 in. (1.2±0.1 meters) above the ground
plane. The microphone point is defined
as the point of intersection of the ve-
hicle path and the normal to the vehicle
path drawn from the microphone.
The microphone shall be oriented with
respect to the source so that the sound
strikes the diaphragm at the angle for
which the microphone was calibrated to
have the flattest frequency response
characteristic over the frequency range
100 Hz to 10 kHz.
(3) An acceleration point shall be es-
tablished on the vehicle path 50 feet
(15 m) before the microphone point.
(4) An end point shall be established
on the vehicle path 100 feet (30 m) from
the acceleration point and 50 feet (15 m)
from the microphone point.
(5) The end zone is the last 40 feet
(12 m) of vehicle path prior to the end
point.
(6) The measurement area shall be the
triangular paved (concrete or sealed
asphalt) area formed by the acceleration
point, the end point, and the microphone
location.
20
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<7) The reference point on the ve-
hicle, to indicate when the vehicle is at
any of the points on the vehicle path,
shall be the front of the vehicle except
as follows:
(i) If the horizontal distance from the
front of the vehicle to the exhaust out-
let is more than 200 inches (5.1 meters),
tests shall be run using both the front
and rear of the vehicle as reference
points.
(ii) If the engine is located rearward
to the center of the chassis, the rear of
the-vehicle shall be used as the reference
point.
(8) The plane containing the vehicle
path and the microphone location (plane
ABODE in Figure 1) shall be flat within
±2 inches (.05 meters).
(9) Measurements shall not be made
when the road surface is wet, covered
with snow, or during precipitation.
(10) Bystanders have an appreciable
influence on sound level meter readings
when they are in the vicinity of the ve-
hicle or microphone; therefore not more
than one person, other than the observer
reading the meter, shall be within 50 feet
(15.2 meters) of the vehicle path or in-
strument and the person shall be di-
rectly behind the observer reading the
meter, on a line through the microphone
and observer. To minimize the effect of
the observer and the container of the
sound level meter electronics on the
measurements, cable should be used be-
tween the microphone and the sound
level meter. No observer shall be located
within 1 m in any direction of the micro-
phone location.
(11) The maximum A-weighted fast
response sound level observed at the test
site immediately before and after the
test shall be at least 10 dB below the reg-
ulated level.
(12) The road surface within the test
site upon which the vehicle travels, and,
at a minimum the measurements area
(BCD in figure 205.1) shall be smooth
concrete or smooth sealed asphalt, free
of extraneous material such as graveL
(13) Vehicles with diesel engines shall
be tested using Number ID or Number
2D diesel fuel possessing a cetane rating
from 42 to 50 inclusive.
(14) Vehicles with gasoline engines
shall use the grade of gasoline recom-
mended by the manufacturer for use by
the purchaser.
(15) Vehicles equipped with thermo-
statically controlled radiator fans may
be tested with the fan not operating.
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(c) Procedure: (1) Vehicle operation
for vehicles with standard transmissions.
Full throttle acceleration and closed
throttle deceleration tests are to be used.
A beginning engine speed and proper
gear ratio must be determined for use
during measurements. Closed throttle
deceleration tests are required only for
those vehicles equipped with an engine
brake.
(i) Select the highest rear axle and/
or transmission gear ("highest gear" is
used in the usual sense; it is synonymous
to the lowest numerical ratio) and an
initial vehicle speed such that at wide-
open throttle the vehicle will accelerate
from the acceleration point.
(a) Starting at no more than two-
thirds (66 percent) of maximum rated
or of governed engine speed.
(b) Beaching maximum rated or
governed engine speed within the end
zone.
(c) Without exceeding 35 mph (56
k/h) before reaching the end point.
(1) Should maximum rated or gov-
erned rpm be attained before reaching
the end zone, decrease the approach rpm
in 100 rpm increments until maximum
rated or governed rpm is attained within
the end zone.
(2) Should maximum rated or gov-
erned rpm not be attained until beyond
the end zone, select the next lower gear
until maximum rated or governed rpm
is attained within the end zone.
(3) Should the lowest gear still re-
sult in reaching maximum rated or gov-
erned rpm beyond the permissible end
zone, unload the vehicle and/or increase
the approach rpm in 100 rpm incre-
ments until the maximum rated or gov-
erned rpm is reached within the end
zone.
(ii) For the acceleration test, approach
the acceleration point using the engine
speed and gear ratio selected hi para-
graph (c) (1) of this section and at the
acceleration point rapidly establish
wide-open throttle. The vehicle refer-
ence shall be as indicated hi paragraph
(b) (7) of this section. Acceleration shall
continue until maximum rated or gov-
erned engine speed is reached.
(iii) Wheel slip which affects maxi-
mum sound level must be avoided.
(iv) If the vehicle being tested is
equipped with an engine brake, it must
also be tested as follows: Approach the
microphone point at maximum rated or
governed engine speed in the gear se-
lected for the acceleration test. At the
microphone point, close the throttle and
immediately apply the engine brake
fully and allow the vehicle to decelerate
to one-half of maximum rated or of gov-
erned engine speed. The vehicle refer-
ence shall be as indicated in paragraph
(b) (7) of this section. The engine brake
must be full on during this test.
(2) Vehicle operation for vehicles
with automatic transmissions. Pull
throttle acceleration and closed throttle
deceleration tests are to be used. Closed
throttle deceleration tests are required
only for those vehicles equipped with an
engine brake.
(i) Select the highest gear axle and/
or transmission gear (highest gear is used
in the usual sense; it is synonymous to
the lowest numerical ratio) in which no
up or down shifting will occur under
any operational conditions of the ve-
hicle during the test run. Also, select
an initial vehicle speed such that at
wide-open throttle the vehicle will ac-
celerate from the acceleration point.
(a) Starting at two-thirds (66 per-
cent) of maximum rated or of governed
engine speed.
(b) Reaching maximum rated or gov-
erned engine speed within the end zone.
(c) Without exceeding 35 mph (56
k/h) before reaching the end point.
(.1) Should maximum rated or gov-
erned rpm be attained before reaching
the end zone, decrease the approach rpm
in 100 rpm increments until maximum
rated or governed rpm is attained with-
in the end zone.
(2) Should maximum rated or gov-
erned rpm not be attained until beyond
the end zone, select the next lower gear
until maximum rated or governed rpm
is attained within the end zone.
(3) Should the lowest gear still result
in reaching maximum rated or governed
rpm beyond the permissible end zone,
unload the vehicle and/or increase the
approach rpm hi 100 rpm increments
until the maximum rated or governed
rpm is reached within the end zone,
notwithstanding that approach engine
speed may now exceed two-thirds of
maximum rated or of full load governed
engine speed.
(4) Should the maximum rated or gov-
erned rpm still be attained before enter-
ing the end zone, and the engine rpm
during approach cannot be further low-
ered, begin acceleration at a point 10
feet closer to the beginning of the end
zone. The approach rpm to be used is to
be that rpm used prior to the moving
of the acceleration point 10 feet closer
to, the beginning of the end zone.
(5) Should the maximum rated or gov-
erned rpm still be attained before enter-
ing the end zone, repeat the instructions
22
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in paragraph (4) until maximum rated
or governed rpm is attained within the
end zone.
(ii) For the acceleration test, ap-
proach the acceleration point using the
engine speed and gear ratio selected in
paragraph (c)(2)
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(li) Detector response. To ensure that
a (true) rms indication is provided, the
difference between the level indicated
for a 1000 Hz sinusoidal signal equivalent
to a sound level of 86 dB (rms) and the
level Indicated for an octave band of
random noise of equal energy as the
sinusoidal signal centered at 1000 Hz
shall be no greater that 0.5 dB. A true
rms voltmeter shall be used to determine
equivalence of two input signals.
(ill) Indicating meter. If an indicating
meter is used to obtain sound levels or
band pressure levels, it must meet the
requirements of paragraph (a) (2) and
-------
(Ill) If a graphic level recorder Is to
be used, connect It to the oscillator out-
put. If the oscillator and graphic level
recorder can be synchronized, slowly
sweep the frequency over the range of
31.5 to 12,500 Hz, recording the oscillator
output. If they cannot be synchronized,
record oscillator output for signals at
the 27 frequencies given In Table 205.1.
The differences between the combined
response thus obtained and the oscillator
response obtained previously will de-
scribe the frequency response of the
graphic level recorder.
vedstat Sooti
level Metec
-»
tage Jferarfer
Jigare 205.3 teta JBaJjsIs anl lest analysis
mdsicn Sxucl
taelifctar
Ugore 205.4
(Iv) If visual observation of an indi-
cating meter is to be used for obtaining
data, the oscillator should be connected
to the Indicating meter input (such as
the microphone input of a sound level
meter) and the meter reading observed
for a fixed oscillator output voltage set-
ting for signals at the 27 frequencies
given in Table 205.1.
(v) To check a tape recorder, connect
the instruments as shown in Figure
205.4. Using a 1000 Hz tone, adjust the
oscillator output level to obtain a reading
15 dB below maximum record level. If
the synchronized oscillator/graphic level
recorder system is to be used for anal-
ysis, record an oscillator sweep over the
range of 31.5 to 12,500 Hz, using an ap-
propriate tape recorder input attenuator
setting. Alternatively, tape-record fre-
quency tones at the 27 frequencies given
in Table 205.1. Replay the tape record-
Ings using the setup shown in Figure
205.3. Record the data on a graphic level
recorder or through visual observation of
the indicating meter. Subtract the oscil-
lator frequency response in paragraph
(b) (2) of this section from the response
obtained through the record-playback
sequence to obtain the record/reproduce
frequency response of the system except
for the microphone.
(vi) To obtain the overall system fre-
quency response, add the manufacturer's
microphone calibration data to the re-
sponse just obtained. This may be the
frequency response for the specific
microphone to be used, including calibra-
tion tolerances. Alternatively, use the
manufacturer's "typical" microphone
response plus and minus the maximum
deviation expected from "typical" in-
cluding calibration tolerances. Use the
microphone response curve which corre-
sponds to the manner in which it Is used
in the field. It may be required to add
a correction to the response curves pro-
vided to obtain field response; refer to
the manufacturer's manual.
(vil) Adjustment or repair of equip-
ment may be required to obtain response
within the requirements of paragraph
(a) of this section. After any adjust-
ments, the system shall be requalified
according to paragraph (b) of this
section.
(3) General comments, (i) Calibrate
tape recorders using the brand and type
used for actual data acquisition. Dif-
ferences in tape can cause an appreciable
variation in the recorder/reproduce fre-
quency response characteristics of tape
recorder.
(ii) It shall be ensured that the In-
strumentation used will perform within
specifications and applicable tolerances
over the temperature, humidity, and
other environmental variation ranges
which may be encountered in vehicle
noise measurement works.
(ill) Qualification tests shall be per-
formed using equipment (including
cables) and recording and playback tech-
niques identical with those used while
recording vehicle noise. For example, if
weighted sound level data are normally
recorded use similar weighting and apply
the tolerances of Table 205.1 to tiie
weighting curve for comparison with
record-playback curves. Precautions
should also be taken to ensure that
source and load impedances are appro-
priate to the device being tested. Other
25
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data acquisition systems may use any
combination of microphones, sound level
meters, amplifiers, tape recorders,
graphic level recorders, or indicating
meters. The same approach to qualifying
such a system shall be taken as described
in this document for the systems depicted
In Figures 205.2, 205.3 and 205.4.
(b) Systems other than those specified
in sections 205.54-1 (a) and 205.54-2 (a)
may be used for establishing compliance
•with tbis regulation. In each case the
system must yield sound levels which are
equivalent to those produced by a sound
level meter Type 1 ANSI Sl.4-1971. The
manufacturer bears the burden of dem-
onstrating such equivalence. The manu-
facturer shall notify the Administrator
pursuant to §§ 205.55-4(b) (5) and
205.57-5 (c) (4) of the use of such a sound
data acquisition system.
§ 205.55 Production verification.
§ 205.55—1 General requirements.
(a) Every new vehicle manufactured
for distribution in commerce in the
United States which Is subject to the
standards prescribed in this subpart and
not exempted in accordance with
§205.5:
(1) Shall be verified in accordance
with the production verification proce-
dures described in this subpart; and
(2) Shall be represented in a product
verification report, as required by
§ 205.55-4 or this subpart; and
(3) Shall be labeled in accordance
with the requirements of § 205.55-12 of
this subpart; and
(4) Shall conform to the applicable
noise emission standard established in
§ 205.52 of this regulation.
(b) The requirements of paragraph
(a) apply to new products at the time
they first conform to the definition of
vehicles in these regulations. The re-
sponsibility for complying with the re-
quirement of paragraph (a) rests with
the manufacturer of the new product at
the time the product first conforms to the
definition of vehicle in these regulations.
(c) Subsequent manufacturers of a
new product which conforms to the defi-
nition of vehicle in ttiese regulations
when received by them from a prior
manufacturer, need not fulfill the re-
quirements of paragraph (a) (1), (2) or
(3) where such requirements have al-
ready been complied with by a prior
manufacturer.
§205.55—2 Production verification:
compliance with standards.
(a) (1) Prior to distribution in com-
merce of vehicles of a specific configura-
tion, the first manufacturer of such ve-
hicles must verify such configurations in
accordance with the requirements of this
subpart; except, that production verifi-
cation of a configuration is automatically
and conditionally waived by the Admin-
istrator without request by a manufac-
turer for a period of up to 45 consecutive
days from the date of distribution in
commerce by the manufacturer of the
first vehicle of that configuration in
order to enable a manufacturer to dis-
tribute vehicles in commerce and thus
avoid disruption of the manufacturing
process: Provided, that a manufacturer
conducts the necessary tests required in
paragraphs (b) and/or (c) below as soon
as weather conditions at a manufac-
turer's test facility paimit after distribu-
tion in commerce of the first vehicle of a
configuration. Failure to test on such
first suitable day will result in automatic
and retroactive rescision of the waiver
and will render the manufacturers liable
for illegally distributing vehicles in
commerce.
(2) At the completion of any 45 day
period the conditional waiver granted
under paragraph (a) (1) of this section
is rescinded for that configuration unless
the manufacturer has complied with the
requirements of paragraph (b) and/'oi-
(c) of this section as appropriate; except
that upon application by a manufac-
turer and a showing that the weather
conditions at the manufacturer test
facility or other conditions beyond
the control of the manufacturer made it
impossible to conduct the required test-
ing and such conditions are documented
by the manufacturer and submitted with
any application, the Administrator, at
his option, may extend for a specified
period (not to exceed 45 days), condi-
tional production verification for a con-
figuration to enable the manufacturer
to comply with the requirements of para-
graph (b) and/or (c) of this section or
he may require that the manufacturer
ship the test vehicle to the EPA test fa-
cility for testing by the Administrator.
(b) The production verification re-
quirements with regard to each vehicle
configuration consist of:
(1) testing in accordance with I 205.54
of a vehicle selected in accordance with
i 205.55-4;
(2) compliance of the test vehicle with
the applicable standards when tested in
accordance with § 205.54; and
(3) submission of a production veri-
fication report pursuant to § 205.55—4.
(c) (1) In lieu of testing vehicles of
every configuratiDn as described in para-
26
-------
graph (b) of this section, the manufac-
turer may elect to verify the configura-
tion based on representative testing, the
requirements of which consist of:
(i) Grouping configurations into a
category where each category will be de-
termined by a separate combination of
at least the following parameters (a
manufacturer may use more param-
eters) :
(a> Engine type.
U) Gasoline—two stroke cycle,
(2) Gasoline—four stroke cycle.
(3) Diesel—Two stroke cycle.
(4) Diesel—JPour stroke cycle.
(5) Rotary—Wankel.
(6) Turbine,
(7) Other.
(b) Engine manufacturer.
(c) Engine displacement.
(d) Engine configuration (e£., L-fl
V-S, etc.).
(e) Series (i.e., cab design) including
but not limited to conventional, cab over
engine, and cab forward.
(ii) Identifying the configuration
within each category which emits the
highest sound pressure level (dBA) based
on his best technical judgment and/or
emission test data;
(iii) Testing in accordance with § 205.-
54 of a vehicle selected in accordance
with § 205.55-5 which must be a vehicle
of the configuration which is identified
pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of this
paragraph as having the highest sound
pressure level (estimated or actual)
within the category;
(iv) Compliance of the test vehicle
with applicable standards when tested in
accordance with § 205.54; and
(v) Submission of a production verifi-
cation report pursuant to § 205.55-4.
(2) Where the requirements of para-
graph (c) (1) are complied with, all those
configurations contained within a cate-
gory are considered represented by the
tested vehicle and are considered to be
production verified.
(3) Where the manufacturer tests a
vehicle configuration which has not been
determined as having the highest sound
pressure level of a category, but all other
requirements of paragraph (c) (1) of this
section are complied with, all those con-
figurations contained within that cate-
gory which are determined to have sound
pressure levels no greater than the tested
vehicle are considered to be represented
by the tested vehicle and are considered
to be production verified; however, a
manufacturer must production verify ac-
cording to the requirements of (b) (1)
and/or (c) (1) of this section any con-
figurations in the subject category which
have a higher sound pressure level than
the vehicle configuration tested.
(d) A manufacturer may elect to pro-
duction verify using representative test-
ing pursuant to paragraph (c> of this
section, all or part of his product line.
(e) The manufacturer may, at his
option, proceed with any of the f ollowing
alternatives with respect to any vehicle
determined not in compliance with ap-
plicable standards.
(1) Delete that configuration from the
production verification report. Configu-
rations so deleted may be included in a
later report under § 205.55-4. However,
in the case of representative testing a
new test vehicle from another configura-
tion must be selected and production
verified according to the requirements of
paragraph (c) of this section, in order
to production verify the configurations
represented by the non-compliant ve-
hicle.
(2) Modify the test vehicle and demon-
strate by testing that it meets applicable
standards. All modifications and test re-
sults must be reported in the production
verification report. The manufacturer
must modify all production vehicles of
the same configuration in the same man-
ner as the test vehicle before distribu-
tion into commerce.
(f) Upon request, by Director, Mobile
Source Enforcement Division, the manu-
facturer shall notify such Director of any
production verification testing scheduled
by the manufacturer pursuant to this
section so that EPA Enforcement Officers
may be present and observe such testing
or conduct the testing hi lieu of the
manufacturer.
§.205.55—3 Configuration identification.
(a) A separate vehicle configuration
shall be determined by each combination
of the following parameters:
(1) Exhaust system configuration, (i)
Single vertical.
• ii) Dual vertical.
(iii) Single horizontal.
(iv) Dual horizontal.
(2) Air induction system (.engine), (i)
Na tural.
(ii) Turbocharged.
(3) Fan. (i) Diameter.
(ii) Drive.
(a) Direct.
(b) Thermostatic.
(iii) Maxfanrpm.
(4) Engine manufacturer's horse-
power rating.
(5) Cab characteristic, (i) Sleeper.
(ii) Non sleeper.
(6) Category parameters listed in
g 205.55-2.
27
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§ 205.53—4 Production verification re-
port ; required data.
(a) The manufacturer shall submit a
production verification report to the
Director, Mobile Source Enforcement Di-
vision (EN-340), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M. St., S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20460. A manufacturer
may choose to submit separate produc-
tion verification reports for different
parts of his product line.
(b) The report shall be signed by an
authorized representative of the manu-
facturer and shall include the following:
(1) The name, location and descrip-
tion of the manufacturer's noise emis-
sion test facilities which meet the speci-
fication of § 205.54 and have been utilized
to conduct testing pursuant to this sub-
part b; except, that a test facility that
has been described in a previous submis-
sion under this subpart need not again
be described but must be identified as
such.
(2) A description of normal predeliv-
ery maintenance procedure.
(3) A description of all vehicle con-
figurations as determined in accordance
with I 205.55-3, to be distributed in com-
merce by the manufacturer including a
list identifying or defining any device or
element of design (including its location
and method of operation) incorporated
into vehicles for the purpose of noise
control and attenuation including the
following information for each con-
figuration:
(i) Muffler (exhaust), (a) Manu-
facturer
(b) Manufacturer part number
(ii) Air induction system (engine). (a)
Muffler manufacturer name
(b) Muffler manufacturer part number
(iii) Governed or maximum rated rpm
(iv) Any device which affects noise
emissions from the vehicle and does not
operate during the normal operating
modes of the vehicle (e.g., over tempera-
ture protection)
The manufacturer may satisfy the ve-
hicle configuration description require-
ments of this paragraph by submitting
as part of the production verification re-
port a copy of his sales data literature
which describes his product line Includ-
ing options: Provided, that this litera-
ture is supplemented with any additional
Information to fulfill the requirements .of
this section. If a manufacturer elects to
production verify pursuant to § 205.55-2
(c) the configuration, within each cate-
gory, which is estimated to have the
highest sound pressure level (dBA) shall
be identified. The manufacturer may
estimate the sound pressure level based
on his best technical judgment and/or
data. The criteria used to estimate each
sound pressure level shall be stated with
the estimates.
(4) the following information for each
noise emission test conducted:
(i) the completed data sheet required
by } 205.54 for all official tests conducted
m accordance with ! 205.55-7 including.
for each Invalid test, the reason for in-
validation.
(ID A complete description of any
preparation, maintenance or testing
which was performed on the test vehicle
and which will not be performed on all
other production vehicles
(ill) The reason for replacement where
a replacement vehicle was necessary, and
test results, if any, for replaced vehicle.
(5) A complete description of the
sound data acquisition system if other
than those specified hi § 205.54-1 (a) and
5 205.54-2(a).
(6) The following statement and en-
dorsement: "This report is submitted
pursuant to section 6 and section 13 of
the Noise Control Act of 1972. All test-
tag for which data is reported herein Is
conducted in strict conformance with
applicable regulations under 40 CFR
Fart 205. An the data reported herein is
a true and accurate representation of
such testing. All other information re-
ported herein is, to the best of
(company
knowledge, true and accurate. I
name)
am aware of the penalties associated
with violations of the Noise Control Act
of 1972 and the regulations thereunder.
(authorized representative)
(c) Where a manufacturer elects to
submit separate production verification
reports for portions of his product line
as provided for in paragraph (a) of this
section, information provided in previ-
ous reports need not be resubmitted. Ex-
cept, that Information necessary to up-
date or make current previously sub-
mitted information must be submitted.
(d) Any change with respect to any
information reported pursuant to this
BUbpart shall be reported as soon as the
information becomes available.
§ 205.55-5 Test vehicle (ample selec-
tion.
(a) Test vehicles of a configuration
for which production verification testing
is required by ! 205.55.2 shall be a vehi-
cle of the subject configuration which
28
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has been assembled using the manufac-
turer's normal production processes and
will be sold or offered for sale in com-
merce.
(b) Should a situation arise In which
the configuration to be tested consists of
only vehicles with automatic transmis-
sions, they shall be tested In accordance
with 8 205.54-1 (c) (2).
(c) If the configuration to be tested
consists of both automatic transmission
and standard transmission vehicles, the
test vehicle shall be a standard trans-
mission vehicle unless the manufacturer
has reason to believe that the automatic
transmission vehicle emits a greater
sound level.
§ 205.55-6 Test vehicle preparation.
(a) Prior to the official test, the test
vehicle selected in accordance with
! 205.55-5 shall not be prepared, tested,
modified, adjusted, or maintained In any
manner unless such adjustments, prepa-
ration, modification and/or tests are
part of the manufacturer's prescribed
manufacturing and Inspection proce-
dures, and are documented in the manu-
facturer's Internal vehicle assembly and
Inspection procedures or unless such ad-
justments and/or tests are required or
permitted under this subpart or are ap-
proved In advance by the Administrator.
The manufacturer may perform adjust-
ments, preparations, modification and/
or tests normally performed at the port
of entry by the manufacturer to prepare
the vehicle for delivery to a dealer or
customer.
(b) Equipment or fixtures necessary
to conduct the test may be installed on
the vehicle: Provided, that such equip-
ment or fixtures shall have no effect on
the noise emissions of the vehicle, as de-
termined by measurement methodology.
(c) In the event of vehicle malfunc-
tion (I.e., failure to start, misfiring cyl-
inder, etc.) the manufacturer may per-
form the maintenance that Is necessary
to enable the vehicle to operate in a nor-
mal manner Provided, that such mainte-
nance is documented and reported in
the final report prepared and submitted
In accordance with this subpart.
(d) No quality control, testing, assem-
bly or selection procedures shall be used
on the completed vehicle or any portion
thereof, Including parts and subassem-
blles, that will not normally be used dur-
ing the production and assembly of all
other vehicles of the category which will
be distributed in commerce, unless such
procedures are required or permitted un-
der this subpart.
§ 205.55-7 Testing.
(a) The manufacturer shall conduct
one valid test in accordance with the test
procedures specified In § 205.54. In the
event a vehicle is unable to complete the
emission test, the manufacturer may re-
place the vehicle with a vehicle of the
same configuration as the replaced vehi-
cle or a noisier configuration and will be
subject to all the provisions of these reg-
ulations. Any replacement shall be re-
ported In the production verification re-
port including the reason for the re-
placement.
(b) No maintenance will be performed
on test vehicles except as provided for
by § 205.55-43. In the event a vehicle Is
unable to complete the emission test, the
manufacturer may replace the vehicle.
Any replacement vehicle will be a pro-
duction vehicle of the same configura-
tion as the replaced vehicle or a noisier
configuration and will be subject to all
the provisions of these regulations. Any
replacement shall be reported to the pro-
duction verification report Including the
reason for the replacement
(c) In the event a vehicle falls to com-
ply with the standards of this subpart
when tested In accordance with the pro-
cedures specified in paragraph (a) of
this section, the manufacturer may pro-
ceed In accordance with § 205.55-2(e) of
this subpart.
§ 205.55—8 Addition of, changes to and
deviation from a vehicle configura-
tion daring the model year.
(a) Any change to a configuration with
respect to any of the parameters stated
hi § 205.55-3 shall constitute the addi-
tion of a new and separate configuration
or category to the manufacturer's prod-
uct line.
(b) (1) When a manufacturer intro-
duces a new category or configuration to
his product line, he shall proceed hi ac-
cordance with ! 205.55-2.
(2) If the configuration to be added
can be grouped within a verified category
and the new configuration is estimated
to have a lower sound pressure level than
a previously verified configuration within
the same category, the configuration
shall be considered verified: Provided,
that the manufacturer submits a report
pursuant to S 205.55-4 with respect to
such configuration.
§205.55-9 Production verification
based on data from previous model
years.
(a) Production verification of each
configuration will be required at the be-
29
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ginning of each model year except that
In certain instances, the Administrator,
upon request by the manufacturer, may
permit toe use of production verification
data for specific ' configurations from
previous production verification reports.
Considerations relevant to his decision
are:
(1) The level of the standard in effect
for the model years in question;
(2) Performance based on production
verification data for previous years;
(3) Performance based on data ob-
tained from selective enforcement test-
ing during previous model years; and
(4) The number and type of noise
emission design changes incorporated in
the new models.
§ 205.55-10 Cessation of distribution.
(a) If a category or configuration
is .found to be nonconforming with these
regulations by reason of failure to be
properly verified, as required by S 205.55-
2, the Administrator may Issue an order
to the manufacturer to cease to distribute
in commerce vehicles of that category or
configuration: Provided, however, that
such an order shall not be issued if toe
manufacturer has made a good faith at-
tempt to properly production verify toe
category or configuration. The burden of
establishinT such good faith shall rest
with the manufacturer.
(b> Any such order shall be issued
after notice and opportunity for a
hearing.
§ 205.55-11 Labeling-compliance.
(a> (1) The manufacturer of any ve-
hicle subject to the provisions of section
205.52 shall, at toe time of manufacture,
affix a permanent, legible label, of toe
type and in toe manner described below,
containing toe Information hereinafter
provided, to all such vehicles to be dis-
tributed hi commerce. The labels shall
be affixed in such a manner that they
cannot be removed without destroying or
defacing them, and shall not be affixed
to any equipment which is easily de-
tached from such vehicle.
(2) A label shall be permanently
attached, in a readily visible position, in
toe operator's compartment.
(3) The label shall contain toe follow-
ing information lettered in toe English
language in block letters and numerals,
which shall be of a color that contrasts
with toe background of toe label:
(i) The label heading: Vehicle Noise
Emission Control Information;
(il) Full corporate name and trade-
mark of manufacturer;
(iii) Date of manufacture,
(iv) The statement:
This Vehicle Conforms to TJS. EPA Regu-
lations for Noise Emission Applicable to
Medixim and Heavy Trucks.
The following acts cr the causing thereof
by any person are prohibited by the Noise
Control Act of 1972: (A) The removal or
rendering inoperative, other than for pur-
poses of maintenance, repair, or replacement,
of any noise control device cr element of de-
sign (listed In the owner's manual) incorpo-
rated into this vehicle in compliance with
the Noise Control Act; (B) The use of this
vehicle after such device or element of de-
sign has been removed or rendered inop-
erative.
(v) Vehicles manufactured solely for
use outside toe United States shall be
clearly labeled "For Export Only."
§205.55-12 Labeling-Exterior [Re-
served].
§ 205.56 Testing by the administrator.
(a) (1) The Administrator may require
that any vehicle to be tested pursuant to
these regulations or other vehicles be
submitted to him, at such place and time
as he may designate for toe purpose of
conducting tests in accordance with toe
test procedures described in 5 205.54 to
determine whether such vehicles con-
form to applicable regulations.
(2) The Administrator may specify
that he will conduct such testing at toe
manufacturer's facility, in which case
instrumentation and equipment of toe
type required by these regulations shall
be made available by toe manufacturer
for test operations. The Administrator
may conduct such tests with his own
equipment, which shall equal or exceed
toe performance specifications of toe in-
strumentation,of equipment specified by
toe Administrator in these regulations.
(b) (1) If, based on tests conducted by
the Administrator, toe Administrator de-
termines that toe test facility is Inap-
propriate for conducting the tests re-
quired by this part he will notify the
manufacturer in writing of his deter-
mination and toe reasons therefor.
(2) After toe notification in paragraph
(b) (1) of this section, no data derived
from the subject test facility will be ac-
ceptable for toe purpose of this part and
the Administrator may issue an order to
the manufacturer, with respect to toe
vehicle category or configuration in ques-
tion to cease to distribute in commerce
vehicles of such category or configura-
tion: Except, that any such order shall
be issued only after notice and oppor-
tunity for a hearing. Such notification
may be included m any notifications
30
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under paragraph (b)(l) of this section.
A manufacturer may request that the
Administrator grant a hearing. Request
shall be made not later than fifteen (15)
days, or other such period as may be al-
lowed by the Administrator, subsequent
to notification of the Administrator's
intent to issue an order to cease to dis-
tribute.
(3) The manufacturer may request in
writing that the Administrator recon-
sider his determination in paragraph (b)
(i) of this section based on data or in-
formation which indicates that changes
have been made to the test faculty and
such changes have resolved the reasons
for disqualification.
(4) The Administrator will notify the
manufacturer of his determination with
regard to the requalification of the test
facility within 10 days of the manufac-
turer's request for reconsideration pur-
suant to paragraph (b) (3) of this
section.
(c) (1) Whenever the Administrator
conducts a test on a test vehicle the re-
sults of that test shall constitute the of-
ficial test data for that vehicle.
(2) The Administrator may accept the
manufacturer's test data in lieu of his
data upon a showing by the manufac-
turer that the data, acquired under
paragraph (a) are erroneous and that
the manufacturer's data are correct.
§ 205.57 Selective enforcement auditing
requirements.
§ 205.57-1 Test request.
(a) The Administrator will request all
testing under this subpart by means of
a test request addressed to the manu-
facturer.
(b) The test request will be signed by
the Assistant Administrator for Enforce-
ment or his designee. The test request
will be delivered by an EPA Enforce-
ment Officer to the plant manager or
other responsible official as designated by
the manufacturer.
(c) The test request will specify the
vehicle category or configuration se-
lected for testing, the batch salected for
testing, the batch size, the manufac-
turer's plant or storage facility from
which the vehicles must be selected, the
time at which a vehicle must be selected.
The test request will also provide for
situations in which the selected config-
uration or category is unavailable for
testing. The test request may include an
alternative category or configuration se-
lected for testing in the event that vehi-
cles of the first specified category or con-
figuration are not available for testing
because the vehicles are not being manu-
factured at the specified plant and/or
are not being manufactured during the
specified time or not being stored at the
specified plant or storage facility.
(d) Any manufacturer shall, upon re-
ceipt of the test request, select and test
a batch sample of vehicles from two con-
secutively produced batches of the ve-
hicle category or configurations specified
in the test request in accordance with
these regulations and the conditions
specified in the test request.
(e)(l) Any testing conducted by the
manufacturer pursuant to a test request
shall be initiated within such period as
is specified within the test request: Ex-
cept, that such initiation may be delayed
for increments of 24 hours or one busi-
ness day where ambient test site weather
conditions in any 24-hour period do not
permit testing: Provided, that the am-
bient test site weather conditions for
that period are recorded.
(2) The manufacturer shall complete
emission testing on a minimum of five
vehicles per day unless otherwise pro-
vided for by the Administrator or unl3ss
ambient test site conditions only permit
the testing of a lesser number: Provided.
that ambient test site weather conditions
for that period are recorded. >
(3) The manufacturer will be allowed.
24 hours to ship vehicles from a batch
sample from the assembly plant to the
testing facility if the facility is not lo-
cated at the plant or in close proximity
to the plant: Except, that the Adminis-
trator may approve more time based
upon a request by the manufacturer ac-
companied by a satisfactory justification.
(f) The Administrator may issue an
order to the manufacturer to cease to
distribute into commerce vehicles of a
specified category or configuration being
manufactured at a particular facility if:
(1) The manufacturer refuses to com-
ply with the provisions of a test request
issued by the Administrator pursuant to
this section; or
(2) The manufacturer refuses to com-
ply with any of the requirements of this
section.
(g) A cease-to-distribute order shall
not be issued under paragraph (f) of
this section if such refusal Is caused by
conditions and circumstances outside the
control of the manufacturer which ren-
ders it impossible to comply with the pro-
visions of a test request or any other
requirements of this section. Such con-
ditions and circumstances shall include,
but are not limited to, any uncontrolla-
ble factors which result in the temporary
jnavailability of equipment and person-
31
-------
nel needed to conduct the required tests,
such as equipment break-down or failure
or illness of personnel, but shall not in-
clude failure of the manufacturer to ade-
quately plan for and provide the equip-
ment and personnel needed to conduct
the tests. The manufacturer will bear the
burden of establishing the presence of
the conditions and circumstances re-
quired by this paragraph.
(h) Any such order shall be issued
only after a notice and opportunity for
a hearing.
§ 205.52-2 Test vehicle sample selec-
tion.
(a) Vehicles comprising the batch
sample which are required to be tested
pursuant to a test request in accordance
with this subpart will be selected in the
manner specified in the test request from
a batch of vehicles of the category or
configuration specified in the test re-
quest. If the test request specifies that
the vehicles comprising the batch sample
must be selected randomly, the random
selection will be achieved by sequentially
numbering all of the vehicles in the
batch and then using a table of random
numbers to select the number of vehicles
as specified in (c) of this section based
on the batch size designated by the Ad-
ministrator in the test request. An al-
ternative random selection plan may be
used by a manufacturer: Provided, that
such a plan is approved by the Admin-
istrator. If the test request does not
specify that test vehicles must be ran-
domly selected, the manufacturer shall
select test vehicles consecutively. The
provisions of sections 205.55(b) and (c)
shall also pertain to this section.
(b) The Acceptable Quality Level is 10
percent. The appropriate sampling plans
associated with the designated AQL are
contained in Appendix I, Table II.
(c) The appropriate batch sample size
will be determined by reference to Ap-
pendix I, Table I and II. A code letter is
obtained from Table I based on the batch
size designated by the Administrator in
a test request. The batch sample size will
be obtained from Table n. The batch
sample size will be equal to the maximum
cumulative sample size for the appro-
priate code letter obtained from Table I
plus an additional 10 percent rounded off
to the next highest number.
(d) If the test request specifiies that
vehicles comprising the batch sample
must be selected randomly, individual
vehicles comprising the test sample
will be randomly selected from the batch
sample using the same random selection
plan as hi paragraph (a) of this section.
Test sample size will be determined by
entering Table n.
(e) The test vehicle of the category or
configuration selected for testing shall
have been assembled by the manufac-
turer for'distribution hi commerce using
the manufacturer's normal production
process.
(f) Unless otherwise indicated in the
test request, the manufacturer will select
the batch sample from the production
batch, next scheduled after receipt of the
test request, of the category or configura-
tion specified in the test request.
(g) Unless otherwise indicated hi the
test request, the manufacturer shall se-
lect the vehicles designated hi the test
request for testing.
(h) At their discretion, EPA Enforce-
ment Officers, rather than the manufac-
turer, may select the vehicles designated
in the test request.
(i) The manufacturer will keep on
hand all vehicles hi the batch sample
until such time as the batch is accepted
or rejected hi accordance with § 205.57-6:
Except, that vehicles actually tested and
found to be hi conformance with these
regulations need not be kept.
§ 205.57—3 Test vehicle preparation.
(a) Prior to the official test, the test
vehicle selected hi accordance with
§ 205.57-2 will be prepared hi accordance
with § 205.55-6.
§ 205.57—4 Testing procedures.
(a) The manufacturer shall conduct
one valid test in accordance with the
test procedures specified hi § 205.54 of
this subpart for each vehicle selected for
testing pursuant to this subpart.
(b) No maintenance will be performed
on test vehicles except as provided for
by £205.57-3. In the event a vehicle is
unable to complete the emission test, the
manufacturer may replace the vehicle.
Any replacement vehicle will be a pro-
duction vehicle of the same configura-
tion as the replaced vehicle. It will be
randomly selected from the batch sam-
ple and will be subject to all the provi-
sions of these regulations.
§ 205.57-5 Reporting of the test results.
(a) (1) The manufacturer shall submit
a copy of the test report for all testing
conducted pursuant to § 205.57 at the
conclusion of each 24-hour period dur-
ing which testing is done.
<2> For each test conducted the manu-
facturer will provide the following in-
formation:
(i) Configuration and category identi-
32
-------
fication where applicable;
(ii> Year, make, assembly date, and
model of vehicle;
(iii) Vehicle serial number; and
(iv) Test results by serial numbers.
(3) The first test report for each batch
sample will contain a listing of all serial
numbers in that batch.
(b) In the case where an EPA En-
forcement Officer is present during test-
ing required by this subpart, the writ-
ten reports requested in paragraph (a)
of this section may be given directly to
the Enforcement Officer.
(c) Within 5 days after completion of
testing of all vehicles in a batch sample
the manufacturer shall submit to the Ad-
ministrator a final report which will in-
clude the information required by the
test request in the format stipulated in
the test request in addition to the follow-
ing:
(1) The name, location, and descrip-
tion of the manufacturer's emission test
facilities which meet the specifications of
§ 205.54 and were utilized to conduct test-
ing reported pursuant to this section:
Except, that a test facility that has been
described in a previous submission under
this subpart need not again be described
but must be identified as such.
(2) A description of the random ve-
hicle selection method used, referencing
any tables of random numbers that were
used, name of the person in charge of
the random number selection, if the ve-
hicle test request specifies a random" ve-
hicle selection.
(3) The following information for
each noise emission test conducted,
(i) The completed data sheet required
by § 205.54 for all noise emission tests in-
cluding : for each invalid test, the reason
for invalidatian.
(ii) A complete description of any
modification, repair, preparation, main-
tenance, and/or testing which was per-
formed on the test vehicle and will not be
performed on all other production ve-
hicles.
(iii) The reason for the replacement
where a replacement vehicle was author-
ized by the Administrator, and, if any,
the test results for the replaced vehicles.
(4) A complete description of the
sound data acquisition system if other
than those specified in sections 205.54-1
(a) and205.54-2(a).
(5) The following statement and en-
dorsement: "This report is submitted
pursuant to section 6 and section 13 of
the Noise Control Act of 1972. All testing
for which data is reported herein was
conducted in strict conformance with
applicable regulations under 40 CFR 205
et seg. All the data reported herein is a
true and accurate representation of such
testing. All other information reported
herein is, to the best of
(company name)
knowledge, true and accurate. I am aware
of the penalties associated with viola-
tions of the Noise Control Act of 1972
and the regulations thereunder
(authorized representative)
§ 205.57—6 Acceptance and rejection of
batches.
(a) The batch from which a batch
sample is selected will be accepted or re-
jected based upon the number of failing
vehicles in the batch sample. A sufficient
number of test samples will be drawn
from the batch sample until the cumu-
lative number of failing vehicles is less
than or equal to the acceptance number
or greater than or equal to the rejection
number appropriate for the cumulative
number of vehicles tested. The accept-
ance and rejection numbers listed in Ap-
pendix I, Table II at the appropriate code
letter obtained according to § 205.57-2
will be used in determining whether the
acceptance or rejection of a batch has
occurred.
(b) Acceptance or rejection of a batch
takes place when the decision that a ve- .
hide is a failing vehicle is made on the
last vehicle required to make a decision
under paragraph (a) of this section.
§ 205.57—7 Acceptance and rejection of
batch sequence.
(a) The manufacturer will continue to
inspect consecutive batches until the
batch sequence Is accepted or rejected
based upon the number ol rejected
batches. A sufficient number of consecu-
tive batches will be inspected until the
cumulative number of rejected batches
is less than or equal to the sequence ac-
ceptance number or greater than or
equal to the sequence rejection number
appropriate for the cumulative number
of batches Inspected. The acceptance
and rejection numbers listed'in Appen-
dix I, Table ni at the appropriate code
letter obtained according to § 205.57-2
will be used in determining whether the
acceptance or rejection of a batch se-
quence has occurred.
(b) Acceptance or rejection of a batch
sequence takes place when the decision
that a vehicle is a failing vehicle is made
on the last vehicle required to make a
decision under paragraph (a) of this
section.
(c) If the batch sequence is accepted,
the manufacturer will not be required to
33
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perform any additional testing on vehi-
cles from subsequent batches pursuant
to the initiating test request.
(d) The Administrator may terminate
testing earlier than required in para-
graph (b) based on a request by the
manufacturer accompanied by voluntary
cessation of distribution in commerce,
from all plants, of vehicles from the con-
figuration In question: Provided, that
once production is reinitiated the manu-
facturer must take the action described
in § 205.57-9 (a) (1) and (a) (2) prior to
distribution in commerce of any vehicles
from any plant of the vehicle category of
configuration In question.
§ 205.57-8 Continued testing.
(a) If a batch sequence is rejected hi
accordance with paragraph (b) of
§ 205.57-7, the Administrator may re-
quire continued 100 percent testing with
respect to all vehicles of that category or
configuration produced at that plant.
(b) The Administrator will notify the
manufacturer in writing of his intent to
require any 100 percent testing of vehi-
cles pursuant to paragraph (a) of this
section.
(c) Any tested vehicle which dem-
onstrated conformance with the ap-
plicable standards may be distributed
into commerce.
(d) Any knowing distribution into
commerce of a vehicle which does not
comply with the applicable standards is
a prohibited act.
§ 205.57—9 Prohibition- on distribution
in commerce; manufacturer's rem-
edr.
(a) Once 100 percent continuous test-
ing has been instituted on a category or
configuration pursuant to § 205.57-3 the
manufacturer must take the following
actions before the Administrator will
consider discontinuing such testing:
(1) Submit a written report to the Ad-
ministrator which identifies the reason
for the noncompliance of the vehicles,
describes the problem and describes the
proposed quality control and/or quality
assurance remedies to be taken by the
manufacturer to correct the problem or
follows the requirements for an engi-
neering change pursuant to section
205.55-9; and
(2) Demonstrates that the specified
vehicle category or configuration com-
plies with the applicable emission
standards by testing vehicles from two
consecutively produced batches of that
vehicle category or configuration in ac-
cordance with these regulations and the
conditions specified in the initial test re-
quest.
(b) Any vehicle failing the prescribed
noise emission tests conducted pursuant
to this subpart B may not be distributed
In commerce until necessary adjustments
or repairs have been made and the vehi-
cle passes a retest.
(c) No vehicles of a rejected batch
which are still in the hands of the manu-
facturer may be distributed in commerce
unless the manufacturer has demon-
strated to the satisfaction of the Ad-
ministrator that such vehicles do in fact
conform to the regulations: Except, that
any vehicle that has been tested and
does, in fact, conform with these regula-
tions may be distributed in commerce.
§ 205.58 In-nse requirements.
§ 205.58-1 Warranty.
(a) The vehicle manufacturer who Is
required to production verify under this
part shall include in the owner's manual
or in other information supplied to the
ultimate purchaser the following
statement:
NOISE EMISSIONS WAKBANTY
The manufacturer warrants to the first
person who purchases this vehicle for pur-
poses other than resale and to each subse-
quent purchaser that this vehicle was de-
signed, built and equipped to conform
at the time of sale to such first purchaser
with all applicable U.S. EPA noise control
regulations.
This warranty is not limited to any parti-
cular part, component or system of the ve-
hicle. Defects in the design, assembly, or in
any part, component, or system of the
vehicle which, at the time of sale to such
first purchaser, caused noise emission levels
to exceed Federal standards are covered by
this warranty for the life of the vehicle."
(b) Not later than the date of submis-
sion of the product verification report
required by I 205.55-4, the manufacturer
shall submit to the Administrator two
(2) copies of the written noise emission
warranty required by paragraph (a) of
this section and two (2) copies of all
other information provided to the ulti-
mate purchaser which could reasonably
be construed as impacting on the
warranty.
(c) Not later than ten (10) days after
dissemination, the manufacturer shall
submit two (2) representative copies of
all information of a general nature, or
modifications thereto, which is pro-
vided to dealers, zone representatives, or
other agents of the manufacturer re-
garding the administration and applica-
tion of the noise emission warranty. In-
formation regarding noise emission war-
34
-------
ranty claims which is provided to a
dealer or representative in response to a
particular warranty claim or dealer in-
quiry is not considered to be Information
of a general nature, if such information
does not receive broad dissemination to
dealers.
(d) All information required to be for-
warded to the Administrator pursuant
to this section shall be addressed to:
Director, Mobile Source Enforcement Divi-
sion (EN-340), UJ3. Environmental Pro-
tection Agency, 401 M St, S.W, Washing-
ton, D.C. 20460.
§ 205.58-2 Tampering.
(a) For each model year and for each
configuration of vehicles covered by this
part, the manufacturer shall submit to
the Administrator a list of those acts
which, in the manufacturer's estimation,
might be done to the vehicle in use, on
more than an occasional basis, and re-
sult in an increase in noise emissions
above the standards prescribed in sec-
tion 205.52. The manufacturer should
indicate, wherever possible, the amount
of this increase in noise level.
(b) The above information shall be
submitted to the Administrator within
adequate time prior to the introduction
into commerce of each configuration to
allow for the development and printing
of tampering lists, as provided in para-
graphs (c) and (d), below.
(c) On the basis of the above informa-
tion, the Administrator will develop a list
of acts which, in the Administrator's
judgment, constitute the removal or
rendering inoperative, other than for
purposes of maintenance, repair, or re-
placement, of noise control devices or
elements of design of the vehicle. This
list shall be provided to the manufac-
turer and may be updated from time to
time. The list shall be included in the
statement to the ultimate purchaser as
required by paragraph (d) (2) of this sec-
tion. If the list is not provided by the
Administrator within 30 days of the date
on which the information required in
paragraph (a) of this section is sub-
mitted, the manufacturer shall include
only the statement in paragraph (d> (1)
of this section until such time as the list
has been provided and the owner's man-
ual is reprinted for other purposes.
(d) The manufacturer shall include in
the owner's manual the following infor-
mation :
(1) The statement:
TAMPERING WITH NOISE CONTROL SYSTEM
PROHIBITED
Federal law prohibits the following acts or
the causing thereof: (I) The removal or
rendering inoperative by any person other
than for purposes of maintenance repair, or
replacement, of any device or element of de-
sign Incorporated Into any new vehicle for
the purpose of noise control prior to Its sale
or delivery to the ultimate purchaser or
while It Is In use, or (2) the use of the
vehicle after such device or element of de-
sign has been removed or rendered inoper-
ative by any person.
(2) The statement:
Among those acts presumed to constitute
tampering are the acts listed below.
Immediately following this statement,
the manufacturer shall include the list
developed by the Administrator under
paragraph (c) of this section.
(e) Any act included in the list pre-
pared pursuant to paragraph (c) is pre-
sumed to constitute tampering; however,
in any case in which a proscribed act has
been committed and it can be shown
that such act resulted in no increase in
the noise level of the vehicle or that
the vehicle still meets the noise emis-
sion standard of § 205.52, such act will
not constitute tampering.
(f) The provisions of this section are
not intended to preclude any State or
local jurisdiction from adopting and en-
forcing its own prohibitions against the
removal or rendering inoperative of noise
control systems on vehicles subject to
this part.
(g) All information required by this
section to be furnished to the Adminis-
trator shall be sent to the following
address:
Director, Mobile Source Enforcement Divi-
sion (EIT-340), U.S. Environmental Pro-
tection Agency, 401 M St., S.W., Washing-
ton, D.C. 20460.
§ 205.58—3 Instructions for mainte-
nance, use and repair.
(a) (1) The manufacturer shall pro-
vide to the ultimate purchaser of each
vehicle covered by this subpart written
instructions for the proper maintenance,
use and repair of the vehicle in order to
provide reasonable assurance of the elim-
ination or minimization of noise emis-
sion degradation throughout the life of
the vehicle.
(2) The purpose of the instructions is
to inform purchasers and mechanics of
those acts necessary to reasonably as-
sure that degradation of noise emission
level is eliminated or minimized during
the life of the vehicle. Manufacturers
should prepare the instructions with this
purpose in mind. The instructions should
be clear and, to the extent practicable,
written in nontechnical language.
35
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(3) The instructions must not be used
to secure an unfair competitive advan-
tage. They should not restrict replace-
ment equipment to original equipment
or service to dealer service. Manufactur-
ers who so restrict replacement equip-
ment should be prepared to make public
any performance specifications on such
equipment.
(b) For the purpose of encouraging
proper maintenance, the manufacturer
shall provide a record or log book which
shall contain a schedule for the perform-
ance of all required noise emission con-
trol maintenance. Space shall be pro-
vided in this record book so that the pur-
chaser can note what maintenance was
done, by whom, where and when.
(c) Not later than the date of submis-
sion of the production vertiflcation re-
port required by § 205.55-4, the manu-
facturer shall submit to the Administra-
tor two (2) copies of the maintenance
instructions (including the record book)
required by paragraphs (a) and (b) of
this section.
(d) (1) The Administrator will require
modifications to the instructions if they
are not both necessary and reasonable.
(2) The manufacturers may file a
petition for review of such modifications.
(3) The manufacturer's proposed in-
structions shall be provided to the con-
sumer pursuant to § 205.58-3 (a) (i)
pending review of the proposed instruc-
tions by the Agency.
(e) Information required to be sub-
mitted to the Administrator pursuant to
this section shall be sent to the follow-
ing address:
Director, Mobile Source Enforcement Divi-
sion (EN-340), U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington,
D.C. 20460.
Six copies of all submissions are required.
§ 205.59 Recall of noncomplying ve-
hicles.
(a) Pursuant to section ll(d) (1) of the
Act, the Administrator may issue an or-
der to the manufacturer to recall and
repair or modify any vehicle distributed
in commerce not in compliance with this
subpart.
(b) A recall order issued pursuant to
this section shall be based upon a deter-
mination by the Administrator that ve-
hicles of a specified category or configu-
ration have been distributed in commerce
which do not conform to the regulations.
Such determination may be based on:
(1) A technical analysis of the noise
emission characteristics of the category
or configuration in question; or
(2) Any other relevant information,
including test data.
(c) For the purposes of this section,
noise emissions may be measured by any
test prescribed in § 205.54 for testing
prior to sale or any other test which has
been demonstrated to correlate with the
prescribed test procedure.
(d) Any such order shall be issued
only after notice and an opportunity for
a hearing.
(e) All costs, including labor and
parts, associated with the recall and re-
pair or modification of non-complying
vehicles under this section shall be borne
by the manufacturer.
(f) This section shall not limit the
discretion of the Administrator to take
any other actions which are authorized
by the Act.
APPENDIX I
TABLE 1.—Sample size code letters
Batch size
Code letter
4to8 A
9 to IS B
16 to 25 C
25 and larger D
36
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TABLE II.—Sampling plans for inspecting batches
Sample size code letter
A
B.
C.
D
Test sample
1st
1st
1st
2d
1st
2d..
3d-
4th
5th
6th
7th..
Test sample
size
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Cumulative
test sample
size
4
3
3
6
2
4
6
g
10
12
14
Batch inspection criteria
Acceptance No.
0
0
0
1
8 o
0
1
1
2
Rejection No.
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
> Batch acceptance not permitted at this sample sice.
TABLE III.—Batch sequence plans
Number of CUB
Sample size code letter batches nui
ba
A
B
c
D
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
inlative Sequence inspection criteria
itches Acceptance No. Rejection No.
2
4
6
8
2
4
6
8
10
12
2
4
6
8
10
12
2
4
1
1
2
3
4
0
1
2
4
5
0
0
1
2
3
0
1
2
3
P)
5
5
m
5
6
6
2
3
3
4
4
2
3
4
4
> Batch sequence acceptance not permitted for this number of batches.-
> Batch sequence rejection not permitted for this number of batches;
37
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TABLE IV.—Recommended format for vehicle notes data sheet
Test Report Number:.
Vehicle:
Trade Name:
Model Year: .
Configuration Identification:
Test Site Identification and Location: .
INSTRUMENTATION:
Microphone Manufacturer: _
Sound Level Manufacturer:
Calibrator Manufacturer:
Other and Manufacturer:
TEST DATA:
Approach Gear: _
Approach RPM:.
. Manufacturer:
. VIN:
. Other Reference No.:
. Category Identification:
Acceleration Test:.
Deceleration Test:.
. Model No.
. Model No.
. Model No.
. Model No.
. Date of Test:.
. Temp:
. Serial No.
. Serial No.
. Serial No.
.Serial No.
. Wind: .
Acceleration Test
Run No.
dBA
Left
Bight
Highest RPM attained in End Zone
Calculated Sound Pressure .
.dBA
Deceleration Test with Exhaust Brake Applied
Bun No.
dBA
Left
Bight
Calculated Sound Pressure.
TEST Personnel:
(Name)
Recorded By:
Supervisor —
(Signature)
. Date: .
Title:.
(Signature)
[FBDoc.76-10212 Filed 4-12-76;8:45 am]
38
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