6 NYCRR Part 218, 252, and 200 Regulatory Impact Statement Summary
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 and used catalytic converter standards 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 Part 252 is being repealed and its contents are being updated and incorporated into Part 218.
By statutory authority of, and pursuant to, Environmental Conservation Law (ECL), the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation is responsible for protecting the air resources of New York State. The Commissioner is authorized to adopt rules and regulations to enforce the ECL. The legislature bestowed on the Department the power to formulate, adopt, promulgate, amend, and repeal regulations for preventing, controlling, or prohibiting air pollution.
The main purpose of enacting this regulation is to address the adverse health, environmental, and climate change impacts that criteria and GHG pollutants will cause in New York State if left uncontrolled. New York has made significant progress over the years in improving its air quality; however, it is essential that the Department continue to adopt stringent mobile source emissions standards to protect human health and the environment.
Low emission motor vehicle technology is important to achieving and maintaining the long term air quality of New York. While motor vehicle technology has continued to improve, the number of vehicles and the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) has continued to increase. While vehicles emit pollutants at a lower level when new, the increases in VMT, as well as deterioration of vehicle emission control systems over vehicle life, have resulted in the mobile sector being a major contributor to air quality degradation.
Part 218 is being revised to incorporate California's latest amendments to the LEV program. The California LEV III regulations take effect for all vehicles up to 14,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) beginning with the 2015 model year. The Department is adopting LEV standards and credit mechanisms that are identical to those adopted by CARB. The amendments will: require fleet average super ultra low emission vehicle (SULEV) emissions performance from new vehicles by model year 2022; increase the stringency of the passenger car (PC) and light-duty truck (LDT) standards and restructure them into a combined NMOG+NOx standard (non-methane organic gas + oxides of nitrogen); increase the stringency and restructure the standards for chassis certified medium-duty vehicles (MDV); increase the stringency of the particulate matter (PM) standards; increase the durability requirements; increase the stringency and coverage of the evaporative emission standards; allow manufacturers to demonstrate compliance with the fleet average NMOG+NOx standard based on new vehicles produced and delivered for sale in California and Section 177 states, including the District of Columbia; revise the fuel standards to include ethanol fuels.
New York State's criteria pollutant emission reductions for reactive organic gas (ROG), NOx, and PM2.5 will be fully realized in the 2035-2040 timeframe. The Department estimates that by 2035 the standards will reduce ROG emissions by approximately 21 tons per day (TPD), NOx emissions by approximately 23 TPD, and PM2.5 emissions by approximately 1 TPD.
Part 218 is also being revised to incorporate California's amendments to the ZEV program. The California regulations take effect for all vehicles up to 10,000 pounds GVWR beginning with the 2012 model year. The Department is adopting ZEV standards and credit mechanisms that are identical to those adopted by CARB. The amendments for the 2012-2017 timeframe will: create new ZEV types; extend the travel provision for Type I, I.5, II, and III ZEV; increase the credit amount for Type V fuel cell vehicles; reduce the ZEV requirement for intermediate low volume manufacturers (IVM); remove credit carry forward restrictions; decrease the value of transportation system credits; no longer use NMOG fleet average in the calculation of ZEV credits; revise lead time provisions; clarify vehicle credit eligibility.
The amendments for the 2018-2025 timeframe will: amend manufacturer size definitions, aggregated ownership criteria, and lead time provisions; eliminate partial zero emission vehicles (PZEV) and advanced technology PZEV (ATPZEV) as compliance options; increase ZEV compliance requirements; allow IVM to meet entire ZEV requirement with transitional ZEV (TZEV, previously Enhanced ATPZEV); limit the use of banked PZEV, ATPZEV, and NEV credits to meet ZEV requirements; adjust the credit range; simplify the TZEV credit system; eliminate the travel provision for Type I, I.5, II, and III ZEV; allow GHG over-compliance credits to be used to offset a portion of a manufacturer's ZEV requirement; amend the sales volume determination method; amend the credit carry back provision; remove the placed in service requirement.
There are no additional emission benefits associated with ZEV regulations beyond those achieved under the LEV III and GHG standards.
Part 218 is also being revised to incorporate California's amendments to the GHG standards. The California regulations take effect for all vehicles up to 10,000 pounds GVWR beginning with the 2017 model year. The Department is adopting GHG standards and credit mechanisms that are identical to those adopted by CARB. The amendments will: establish separate footprint indexed carbon dioxide (CO2) grams per mile emission standards for PC and LDT harmonized with proposed federal GHG standards; establish separate emission standards for methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) to harmonize with federal standards; include mandatory requirements for motor vehicle air conditioning (MVAC) refrigerants; include MVAC fleet average leak rate limits; include MVAC indirect emission limits; create off-cycle credit provisions similar to federal provisions; create incentives for full-size pickup truck emission reductions; create optional credit provisions for upstream emissions.
New York State's GHG emission reductions will be fully realized in the 2035-2040 timeframe. The Department estimates that by 2035 the standards will reduce carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions in New York by approximately 19 million metric tons (MMT) per year.
Part 218 is being revised to incorporate regulations for new aftermarket and used catalytic converters that are identical to those adopted by CARB. This regulation prohibits the sale of used catalytic converters and requires more stringent emissions reduction performance and durability requirements for new aftermarket catalytic converters. The new aftermarket catalytic converters are required to achieve exhaust emissions that comply with the emissions standards to which the vehicles were certified. The durability requirement was extended from 25,000 miles to 50,000 miles and the catalytic converters must be warranted to be free from defect for five years. The new aftermarket catalytic converters also must be compliant with onboard diagnostic (OBDII) systems on 1996 and newer vehicles. New aftermarket catalytic converters are required to display a permanent label or stamp indicating the CARB Executive Order approval number, the part number, date of manufacture, and an arrow indicating the proper installation direction.
The Department estimates that the proposed regulation will reduce emissions of HC + NOx in New York State by 3.66 tons per day in 2012.
Part 218 is also being revised to incorporate revisions to California's environmental performance label standards. Theses revisions will apply to all 2013 and subsequent model year PC, LDT, and MDV up to 14,000 GVWR. The standards will harmonize California's label with the recently adopted federal fuel economy and environmental performance label.
The Department is adopting environmental performance label standards that are identical to those adopted by CARB. The Department originally adopted California's environmental performance label standards in 2009 and incorporated them in Part 252. The standards are being updated and moved to Part 218 to consolidate the new motor vehicle regulations in a single Part. Part 252 will be repealed. New York State passed legislation (S4833/A8839) in 2007 requiring that global warming index labels be affixed to new 2010 and subsequent model year vehicles delivered for sale in New York. The labels were required to be consistent with labels adopted by other states, and permitted the adoption of California labeling requirements.
The Department is also revising Part 218 to incorporate California's warranty and recall regulations for California certified vehicles delivered for sale and registered in New York State. These regulations will apply to 2016 and subsequent model year vehicles and will not be retroactive. Adoption of the warranty and recall regulations is important to achieving the State's goal of reduced motor vehicle emissions. The California warranty and recall program has the potential to achieve additional emission reductions by addressing parts failures before they can lead to excessive emissions. The reporting requirements will enable the Department to track failures and corrective action undertaken by manufacturers. Adopting the warranty and recall regulations will also remove existing confusion over what requirements apply to varying states, particularly for new vehicle dealers and consumers.
The cost effectiveness of the LEV III standards for light-duty vehicles is estimated to be $4 per pound of ROG + NOx emissions reduced in 2025 and $3 per pound in 2035. The average incremental price increases in 2025 were estimated to be $75 for gasoline fueled vehicles and $54 for diesel. There are no operating cost savings associated with the LEV III standards.
There are no compliance costs attributed to the ZEV program in this rulemaking package. All compliance costs are accounted for in the LEV III and GHG standards.
The operating cost savings resulting from the regulation are attributed solely to the GHG standards. Consumers should experience significant savings resulting from decreased operating costs which would more than offset the increased initial purchase price of new vehicles. The GHG standards are estimated to increase new vehicle prices by approximately $1,800 dollars in 2025. The Department estimates that the break-even year for model year 2017-2025 passenger cars occurs between one to five years after initial purchase. The average 2025 model year new passenger car is projected to save more than $3,400 over a 10 year period. For model year 2017-2025 light-duty trucks the break-even year occurs one year after initial purchase. The average 2025 model year new light-duty truck is projected to save more than $14,000 over a 10 year period.
The cost effectiveness of the proposed warranty and recall regulations is difficult to quantify since it relies upon the quality and durability of future emission control components. However, it is anticipated that some emissions reductions will occur as a result of repairing defective, or noncompliant, in-use emissions control components to meet original certification standards. Staff believes that the emissions benefit of the warranty and recall regulations would be achieved by completing emissions related repairs at no, or reduced, cost to the consumer. DEC anticipates a reduction in the number of repair expenditure based emission inspection waivers. Repair costs for vehicles receiving waivers ranged from $450 to $6,200 with an average repair cost of $838.
The cost of a new aftermarket catalytic converter is expected to increase up to $200 per unit. The average cost increase is attributable to the increased amounts of precious metals required to comply with the new regulation. However, this cost increase is partially offset by increased durability and warranty requirements. The Department estimates the cost effectiveness of the proposed regulation in New York to be $3.60 per pound of HC + NOx reduced.
New York State consumers will likely experience increased new vehicle prices as a result of the LEV III, GHG and ZEV standards. However, it is expected that they will also experience reduced operating costs which should more than offset the increased purchase prices. The warranty and recall regulations could provide an economic benefit for consumers since they provide enhanced protection for a vast array of emissions parts and systems that may not have been covered under warranty in the past.
The aftermarket catalytic converter regulations are expected to result in additional costs for New York State consumers. The greatest adverse impact is likely to be experienced by consumers accustomed to purchasing used converters, and those vehicle owners faced with the need to replace a converter for vehicles sold in low volume.
The revised environmental performance labels are not expected to result in any additional costs for consumers. Consumers will benefit by having access to information that will enable them to make knowledgeable decisions when purchasing new vehicles, ideally resulting in a cleaner fleet in New York.
Adoption of the warranty and recall regulations in New York will likely result in cost increases for manufacturers. Manufacturers would be required to extend California's more comprehensive warranty coverage to a market where it has not been required to date, thereby incurring costs to repair affected vehicles. Further, the more stringent recall reporting requirements will likely result in minimal cost and workload increases to manufacturers to prepare reports specifically for New York vehicles. The reporting requirements will be identical to those in California and other Section 177 states that have previously adopted the regulation. The regulations could enable the manufacturers to reduce some costs by reducing the number of markets with different warranty and recall provisions. Adopting the warranty and recall regulations would also remove existing confusion over what requirements apply to varying states, particularly for new vehicle dealers and consumers.
The proposed amendments are not expected to cause a noticeable change in New York employment since the State accounts for only a small share of motor vehicle and parts manufacturing employment. The proposed LEV, ZEV, GHG, environmental performance label, and warranty and recall regulations are not expected to have a significant adverse impact on business creation, elimination, or expansion. This determination is based upon previous experience implementing similar revisions to the program over the past 22 years.
The proposed regulations are not expected to result in any additional costs for local and state agencies beyond those that will be experienced by the general public. No additional paperwork or staffing requirements are expected. This is not a mandate on local governments pursuant to Executive Order 17.
The LEV, ZEV, GHG, and environmental performance label regulations should not result in any significant paperwork requirements for New York vehicle suppliers, dealers or government. In fact, the Department is reducing the paperwork burden in some areas by eliminating reporting requirements that are no longer necessary. New York relies on materials submitted to California for certification, while manufacturers must submit to New York annual sales and corporate fleet average reports to show compliance with the fleet average requirements. This has been the case since New York first adopted the California LEV program in 1992. The implementation of the proposed regulations is not expected to be burdensome in terms of paperwork to vehicle owners.
The aftermarket catalytic converter regulation should not result in any significant paperwork requirements for New York vehicle suppliers, dealers or local government. The proposed warranty provisions would require the installer to complete a warranty card in triplicate with the original going to the customer, one copy to the installer, and one copy to the manufacturer of the converter. The implementation of the proposed catalytic converter regulation is not expected to be burdensome in terms of paperwork to owners/operators of vehicles.
The Department will experience an increase in paperwork associated with aftermarket catalytic converter warranty reporting requirements. This increased workload will be covered by existing staff working on the LEV program. Manufacturers of aftermarket catalytic converters will be required to submit semi-annual reports to the Department identical in format and content to those submitted to California. Warranty claims exceeding four percent or 100 claims, whichever is greater, in New York will require the manufacturer to include in the report the type of failure, the probable cause of the failure, and an evaluation of the impact on vehicle emissions.
The warranty and recall regulations are likely to result in increased paperwork requirements for New York vehicle suppliers, dealers, and government. Manufacturers currently provide warranty and recall information to California and other Section 177 states, and it is anticipated that manufacturers will provide similar information adjusted for New York vehicles. Implementation of the warranty and recall regulations is expected to be transparent in terms of paperwork to owners and operators of vehicles.
The LEV III regulatory amendments will take effect for 2015 through 2025 model year PC, LDT, and MDV up to 14,000 pounds GVWR. The ZEV amendments will take effect for 2012 through 2025 model year PC and LDT up to 10,000 pounds GVWR. The GHG amendments will take effect for 2017 and subsequent model year PC, LDT, and MDV up to 10,000 pounds GVWR. The environmental performance label amendments will take effect for 2013 and subsequent model year PC, LDT, and MDPV up to 10,000 pounds GVWR. The new aftermarket and used catalytic converter regulations will take effect for all 1993 and subsequent model year California certified on-road motor vehicles, with the exception of 1995 model year vehicles. The warranty and recall regulations will take effect for 2016 and subsequent model year California certified vehicles.
