July 1-7, 2023
In this week's issue:
- NACAA Comments on EPA’s Proposed Multipollutant Emission Standards for Light- and Medium-Duty Vehicles (July 3, 2023)
- CARB Announces Clean Truck Partnership Agreement with Truck and Engine Manufacturers (July 6, 2023)
- EPA Designates New FEM for PM10 Monitoring (July 3, 2023)
- EPA Proposes New Methane Reporting Requirements For Oil and Gas Producers (July 6, 2023)
- Researchers: IRA May Reduce Climate Technology Costs, Magnify Emission Reductions Globally (July 6, 2023)
- Scientists Find July 4 Was Hottest Day Ever Recorded; June 2023 Sets Record for Hottest Month (July 6, 2023)
This Week in Review
NACAA submitted comments on EPA’s proposed rule, “Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles.” After providing perspectives on the importance and feasibility of more protective federal standards for light-duty vehicles (LDVs) and medium-duty vehicles (MDVs) NACAA provides a number of specific comments and recommendations. Among these are that NACAA strongly supports EPA’s proposal of more protective emission standards for non-methane organic gas plus nitrogen oxide (NOx) and for particulate matter (PM) as well as the proposed provisions to eliminate commanded enrichment as an auxiliary emission control device on internal combustion engines used in LDVs and MDVs. In addition, the association supports proposed revisions related to evaporative emissions and makes some recommendations to improve upon them. Regarding EPAs proposed greenhouse gas emission standards, NACAA supports the strongest LMDV CO2 emission standards that are technologically feasible, noting especially that EPA’s progressively more effective emission standards are performance based and do not mandate the use of any specific technology, nor do they mandate that any percentage of vehicle production be ZEVs. Instead, each manufacturer may choose what mix of emission control technologies is best suited for its fleet to meet the standards. For LDVs, NACAA supports, at a minimum, EPA’s proposed CO2 standards with the addition of anti-backsliding requirements to ensure that non-ZEV vehicle emissions do not increase over time. For MDVs, NACAA supports EPA’s proposed CO2 standards including the proposal to revise the existing MY 2027 CO2 standard because of the increased feasibility of GHG emission-reducing technologies for this sector in this time frame. NACAA also weighs in 1) to support reducing the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) Fleet Utility Factor curve used in the CO2 compliance calculation for PHEVs beginning in MY 2027 and recommend that the curve be even lower than proposed; 2) to support the proposal to phase out, between 2027 and 2030, of the off-cycle credit program for LDVs and MDVs; 3) to support the proposed elimination of air conditioning leakage credits and recommend that EPA include in the final rule a leakage design standard to serve as a backstop against the impact of any leakage; 4) to recommend that in the final rule EPA align with the Advanced Clean Cars II Regulation regarding data standardization, durability, warranty, minimum milage range labeling, charging and serviceability requirements; and 5) to support EPA pursuing potential future gasoline fuel property standards.
For further information:
NACAA_Comments-LMDV_Multipollutant_NPRM-070323lh-1.pdf (4cleanair.org)
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced a Clean Truck Partnership (CTP) agreement with the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) on moving forward to regulate emissions from onroad heavy-duty (HD) vehicles and engines. Under the agreement, CARB, beginning with MY 2027, will align with EPA’s single-step nitrogen oxide (NOx) standard of 35 mg/hp-hr, as established under the January 2023 federal onroad HD truck NOx rule. (In its existing HD Vehicle and Engine Omnibus Regulation, adopted in 2021, CARB established a medium HD, light HD and HD gasoline truck NOx standard of 20-mg/hp-hr beginning with MY 2027 and a heavy HD truck standard of 20-mg/hp-hr beginning with MY 2031, with an interim standard of 35 mg/hp-hr for MYs 2027 through 2030.) CARB will maintain 1) its certification program and does not commit to issue “deemed to comply certifications” based on EPA certifications; 2) its Onboard Diagnostics program, with which manufacturers must comply in order to be certified in the state; 3) its Emission Warranty and Information Reporting program, but will implement “clarifications” as outlined in the agreement; 4) its heavy-duty in-use compliance program for diesel and gasoline engines; and 5) its mandatory Clean Idle Label requirement for California-certified engines, but will propose to align with EPA’s standard of 10 grams per hour. For their part, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) “commit to meet, in California, the requirements of the relevant regulations as specified below [related to the Omnibus, the Advanced Clean Trucks Regulation, the Zero Emission Airport Shuttle Regulation, the Zero Emission Powertrain Certification Procedure and the 2018 HD Warranty Amendments] and any agreed upon modifications per this Agreement, regardless of the outcome of any litigation challenging the waivers/authorizations for those regulations, or CARB’s overall authority to implement those regulations.” The agreement also addresses some alignment issues between the Omnibus and EPA’s 2023 onroad HD truck NOx rule related to temperature adjustment and interim compliance allowance. Further, CARB will propose, and recommend that its Board adopt, a minimum of four years lead time and three years of regulatory stability for future criteria pollutant emissions regulations affecting onroad heavy-duty engines and vehicles; this will also apply to CARB’s planned Advanced Clean Trucks 2 rulemaking. Additionally, CARB commits in the agreement to modify existing compliance flexibility provisions of the Omnibus, applicable from 2024 through 2026, by raising the caps on legacy engines and “streamlining certain other provisions without increasing emissions compared to the preexisting Omnibus.” Finally, in Appendix D to the agreement, EMA and the OEMs agree “to limit their advocacy, as set forth below [in paragraphs A-G], in states that either already have elected to adopt through Section 177 CARB’s Omnibus or ACT rules, or that may choose to do so in the future.”
For further information:
and
EPA announced in the Federal Register (88 Fed. Reg. 42,718) that it has designated a new Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) for measuring PM10 concentrations in the ambient air. Manufactured by Thermo Fisher Scientific, the Model 5030i SHARP monitor is an automated method that combines inertial separation of the PM10 size range with filter separation followed by analysis by beta attenuation. As a designated FEM, this method is deemed acceptable by EPA for use by state, local and other monitoring agencies for determining compliance with the PM10 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), when used in accordance with its operation or instruction manual and subject to any specifications and limitations specified in the method description.
For further information:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-07-03/pdf/2023-14083.pdf
EPA has issued a proposal aimed at improving the accuracy of reported methane emissions from petroleum and natural gas facilities by amending reporting requirements for their systems under Subpart W of the agency’s Grreenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP). The GHGRP requires about 8000 facility owners to annually report to EPA information from large GHG emission sources, fuel and industrial gas suppliers, and CO2 injection sites in the United States. Under Subpart W of the GHGRP, owners or operators of petroleum and natural gas systems that emit 25,000 metric tons or more of CO2e per year collect data, calculate emissions, and report that data to EPA. The proposal would require oil and gas facilities to report “abnormal” emission events like storage wellhead leaks and well blowouts that are not included in reporting under the existing system. Other revisions include data collection, quality assurance, missing data, recordkeeping, and reporting. Subpart W covers ten segments of the petroleum and natural gas industry. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) called for improvements to the data collected and reported regarding methane leaks and other emissions. EPA said its proposal to revise the GHGRP would improve the accuracy of reported emissions of methane from petroleum and natural gas facilities, and align with IRA’s Methane Emissions Reduction Program requirements. The proposal will be open to comment from the public for 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.
For further information:
New research by the consulting firm The Rhodium Group models the impacts of IRA investments and their resulting economies of scale for emerging clean technologies, and finds that their impact will be magnified globally as their costs decline. The paper finds that “for every ton of CO2 reduced within the US, an additional 2.4-2.9 tons of CO2 emissions reductions are achieved outside the US, thanks to IRA-driven cost reductions in the green premium of [emerging climate technologies] globally.” These emerging technologies include not only renewable power generation and electric vehicles, but clean hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, and direct air capture. The researchers found that the emissions benefits of these incentives will likely occur after 2030 and outside the US, as IRA-driven cost declines accelerate deployment globally.
For further information:
In terms of global average surface temperature, July 4, 2023 warmed to the highest temperature ever recorded by human-made instruments when the average global temperature reached 62.92°F, (17.18°C), according to data from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction and the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer project. A new “hottest month” global average surface temperature record was also set in June 2023, according to data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, 1 degree Fahrenheit above the 1991-2020 average for the month, breaking the previous record of 0.7 degrees above average set in 2019. The European Union-funded Copernicus is part of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and routinely publishes monthly climate bulletins reporting on the changes observed in global surface air temperature, sea ice cover and hydrological variables. Copernicus researchers also noted that Northwestern Europe set temperature records in June 2023, and North America, Asia and eastern Australia saw temperatures considerably above average, while the western United States, western Russia and western Australia saw cooler temperatures in June 2023. North America also experienced an unusual dry period during that time, which created conditions for wildfires in the U.S. and Canada whose smoke created unhealthy air quality in much of the eastern U.S. last month.
For further information:
https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/t2_daily/
https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-record-north-atlantic-warmth-hottest-june-record-globally