6 NYCRR Part 218, 252, and 200 Job Impact Statement
1. Nature of Impact:
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Department) is proposing to amend 6 NYCRR Section 200.9 and 6 NYCRR Part 218. Part 218 is being amended to incorporate revisions to the low emission vehicle (LEV), greenhouse gas (GHG), zero emission vehicle (ZEV), environmental performance label, and new aftermarket catalytic converter requirements that have been adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as part of the LEV program. The Department is also incorporating California's emissions warranty and recall provisions. Part 252 is being repealed and its contents are being updated and incorporated into Part 218.
The amendments to the regulations may adversely impact jobs and employment opportunities in New York State. New York State has had a LEV program in effect since model year 1993 for passenger cars and light-duty trucks, with the exception of model year 1995, and the Department is unaware of any significant adverse impact to jobs and employment opportunities as a result of previous revisions.
2. Categories and numbers affected:
The changes to this regulation may adversely impact businesses involved in manufacturing, selling, leasing, purchasing, or repairing passenger cars or trucks. The proposed regulation is not expected to impose a competitive disadvantage on affiliated businesses, and there would be no change from the current relationship with out-of-state businesses.
The regulations are not expected to have a significant impact on employment since New York State accounts for only a small portion of automobile manufacturing employment. Automobile manufacturers are expected to incur costs in order to comply with the regulation. The increased costs are associated with the use of advanced technology emissions control components and the increased cost of providing the more comprehensive California emissions warranty. It is expected that these increased costs will be passed on to the consumer in the form of increased purchase prices.
The regulations are not expected to have a significant adverse impact on dealership employment levels. Dealerships may experience a reduction in sales revenue if consumers decide to delay, or forego, purchasing new advanced technology vehicles in response to increased prices. However, these delayed or lost sales could potentially be offset by early adopters and consumers desiring vehicles with reduced operating costs. Dealerships may also incur expenses to train staff to sell and service advanced technology vehicles. Dealerships may experience a reduction in service revenue due to the emissions warranty regulations. This is due to the fact that original equipment manufacturers (OEM) generally reimburse dealerships for warranty repairs at a rate lower than the rate charged to retail customers. Dealerships may experience increased revenue from sales of catalytic converters for vehicle models for which there are no certified aftermarket catalytic converters.
Independent repair shop employment may be adversely affected by the regulations. Independent repair shops may lose revenue associated with repairs that would be performed at dealerships and covered by the more comprehensive emissions warranty. This loss of revenue may result in reduced employment opportunities at some independent repair shops.
The new aftermarket catalytic converter requirements are not expected to have an adverse impact on the majority of New York State businesses. The greatest impact will be on businesses which sell, advertise, or install used catalytic converters, as these activities will be prohibited by the proposed regulation. The result will be a transfer of business and associated income from companies selling used catalytic converters to companies selling CARB certified new aftermarket catalytic converters or OEM catalytic converters. The total sales of catalytic converters will remain unchanged. The Department expects that any increase in development and production costs will be passed along to consumers in the form of higher purchase prices.
3. Regions of adverse impact:
None.
4. Minimizing adverse impact:
The regulations are not expected to have significant adverse impacts on automobile dealers. Dealerships will be required to ensure that the vehicles they sell are California certified. Starting with the 1993 model year, most manufacturers have included provisions in their ordering mechanisms to ensure that only California certified vehicles are shipped to New York dealers. The implementation of the regulations is not expected to be burdensome in terms of additional reporting requirements for dealers. There would be no change in the competitive relationship with out-of-state businesses.
The regulations attempt to minimize adverse impacts on automobile manufacturers by phasing-in emissions standards over several model years, offering credit incentives, allowing pooling of vehicle sales to demonstrate compliance, and offering alternative compliance pathways to increase compliance flexibility among other options. The warranty and recall provisions will have the required two years of lead time and will not be applied to vehicles retroactively.
It will be difficult, if not impossible, to minimize the adverse impact of the new aftermarket catalytic converter requirements and used catalytic converter prohibition on businesses which sell, advertise, or install used catalytic converters. The use, sale, or installation of used catalytic converters is expressly prohibited due to the lack of economically feasible screening methods to evaluate the emissions reduction performance of used catalytic converters. Each converter will have to be tested individually to determine if it was acceptable for reuse, which is a costly and time consuming process. Further, the existing methods are unable to determine if the used catalytic converters will meet the performance and durability requirements required by the new aftermarket catalytic converter standards. It is possible that companies supplying used catalytic converters will be able to generate some revenue by recycling the precious metal content of used converters.
5. Self-employment opportunities:
None that the Department is aware of at this time.
