EPA Decision to Grant California's
Request for Waiver of Preemption for
its Advanced Clean Car Program
EPA has signed a Federal Register Notice announcing its decision
to grant a California Air Resources Board (CARB) request for a
waiver of preemption for its Advanced Clean Car (ACC) regulations.
The ACC regulations revise California's Low Emission Vehicle (LEV)
program (which includes both criteria pollutant and greenhouse gas
(GHG) emission standards) as well as the Zero Emission Vehicle
(ZEV) program.
Overview
The regulations apply to light duty vehicles, light duty trucks, and medium duty
passenger vehicles. The ZEV amendments add flexibility to California's existing ZEV
program for 2017 and earlier model years (MYs), and establish new sales and tech-
nology requirements starting with the 2018 MY. The LEVIII amendments establish
more stringent criteria and GHG emission standards starting with the 2015 and 2017
MYs, respectively.
The ACC program entails four separate regulations that California has packaged
together to address what California describes as the interrelated issues of ambient
air quality and climate change. The regulations together are designed to encourage
coordinated development, introduction, and sales of advanced technologies so as
to support investment in infrastructure and reduce technology costs. The updated
ZEV, GHG, and LEVIII criteria emission standards regulations are covered under the
ACC waiver. The fourth regulation establishes requirements for electric and hydro-
gen infrastructure improvements and is not subject to federal preemption.
The new ZEV standards are designed to commercialize battery-electric, plug-in
hybrid, and fuel cell technologies, reaching about 15% of new vehicle sales in Cali-
fornia in the 2025 time frame. The changes that CARB added to the 2017 and
SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
EPA-420-F-12-083
December 2012
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earlier model year ZEV program allow manufacturers to earn and save credits in more flexible
ways. This in turn is intended to help manufacturers achieve the sales targets that accelerate
more steeply beginning with the 2018 model year. The LEVIII criteria pollutant standards are
designed to achieve further reductions by increasing the stringency of vehicle standards and
by extending vehicle useful life to 150,000 miles from the current 120,000 miles. The LEVIII
GHG standards would reduce fleet GHG emissions in MY2025 by about 34% over MY2016
levels. The California GHG standards are almost identical in stringency and structure to the
federal MY2017-2025 GHG standards. Additionally, on December 6, 2012, California adopted a
"deemed to comply" regulation that enables manufacturers to show compliance with California
GHG standards by demonstrating compliance with federal GHG standards.
In reaching its waiver decision, EPA determined that the GARB ZEV amendments as they
affect 2017 and earlier MYs are within the scope of prior EPA waivers. EPA also determined that
the waiver includes the new "deemed to comply" regulation.
Background on EPA Decision Making Process
The Clean Air Act preempts all states from adopting emission standards for new motor vehicles,
but establishes specific provisions through which California may obtain a waiver of federal pre-
emption. Section 209(b)(l) of the Act directs EPA to grant a waiver unless EPA finds that:
• California's determination that its standards will be, in the aggregate, as protective of public
health and welfare as applicable federal standards is arbitrary and capricious,
• California does not need its standards to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions, or
• California standards and accompanying enforcement procedures are not consistent with sec-
tion 202(a) of the Act.
In prior waiver decisions, EPA has determined the third (consistency) criterion to mean that
CARB's regulations either do not provide adequate lead time to implement the new technology,
giving appropriate consideration to the cost of compliance within the applicable time frame;
or, impose inconsistent certification requirements such that manufacturers would be unable to
satisfy both California and federal certification requirements with the same vehicle,
GARB submitted a request to EPA for a waiver of preemption under section 209(b) for its ACC
regulations on June 27, 2012. On August 31, 2012, EPA announced an opportunity for public
hearing and comment on the California request. A hearing took place on September 19, 2012
in Washington DC and the comment period closed on October 19, 2012,
EPA received comment from organizations representing auto manufacturers and dealers, emis-
sion control manufacturers, states, businesses, consumer and environmental organizations, and
the general public. The large majority of comments urged EPA to grant the waiver. EPA re-
ceived two opposing comments; one recommended outright denial and the other recommended
denial or deferral of certain components of the ACC program. However, EPA determined that
these opponents of the waiver had not demonstrated the burden of proof necessary for EPA to
deny a waiver based on the waiver criteria found in section 209(b) of the Clean Air Act. EPA
provides a detailed discussion of its decision and rationale in the Federal Register Notice,
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For More Information
You can access documents on this waiver decision on EPA's Office of Transportation and Air
Quality (OTAQ) website at:
www.epa.gov/otaq/cafr.htm
You can also contact the OTAQ library for document information at:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality Library
2000 Traverwood Drive
Ann Arbor, MI48105
734-214-4311& 214-4434
E-mail: Group_AALibrary@epa.gov
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