The FCPC Class I area was established as part of a Federal Implementation Plan approved by USEPA in an April 29, 2008 Federal Register Notice.
Plain language analysis
This rule is being proposed to amend portions of Department rules to incorporate the federal re-designation of certain parcels of the Forest County Potawatomi Community Reservation as a non-Federal Class I area for the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) of air quality, and to include portions of a 1999 Final Agreement reached between the State and the Forest County Potawatomi Community concerning the Class I area.
A Class I area is defined in ch.
NR 405, Wis. Adm. Code. In general, the PSD program is designed to preserve air quality in Class I areas such as national parks and other areas meeting National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Class I areas are subject to lower allowable increases in ambient concentrations of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.
Comparison with federal regulations
In an April 29, 2008, Federal Register Notice, the USEPA established the FCPC Class I area. The Department and the FCPC have agreed to provisions impacting the FCPC Class I area that USEPA stated, in the April 29, 2008, notice, need to be promulgated as part of the State's Implementation Plan for controlling air pollution in order to be effective for federal purposes.
Comparison with similar rules in adjacent states
There are no non-federal Class I areas or non-federal Class I rules in any of these states.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies
The proposed rule is based on the federal re-designation of the FCPC Reservation lands to non-federal Class I, and the Final Agreement.
Analysis and supporting documents used to determine the effect on small business
An analysis of the effect of the proposed rules on small business was not performed since the proposed rule only impacts major sources of air pollution in the State and conforms to federal requirements. Major sources of air pollution are not typically small businesses.
Small Business Impact
These rules should not have a significant economic impact on small business because major air pollution sources do not generally meet the definition of a small business.
Environmental Impact
The Department has made a preliminary determination that adoption of the proposed rules would not involve significant adverse environmental effects and would not need an environmental analysis under ch.
NR 150, Wis. Adm. Code. However, based on comments received, an environmental analysis may be prepared before proceeding. This analysis would summarize the Department's consideration of the impacts of the proposal and any reasonable alternatives.
Fiscal Estimate
The proposed rules amend the existing air permitting rules to include a non-federal Class air quality area. The Department already processes air permits which may impact existing Class I areas and expects no significant change in permit workload as a result of this rule.
Agency Contact Person
Steven Dunn
P.O. Box 7921
Madison, WI 53707
Phone: (608) 267-0566
Fax: (608) 267-0560
Notice of Hearing
Natural Resources
Environmental Protection — Air Pollution Control,
Chs.
NR 400—
(DNR # AM-13-10)
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN That pursuant to ss.
227.16 and
227.17, Stats., the Department of Natural Resources, hereinafter the Department, will hold a public hearing on proposed rules revising Chapters
NR 484 and
485, relating to the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program and affecting small business. The proposed revisions relate to issues for State Implementation Plan approvability; and the State Implementation Plan developed under s.
285.11 (6), Stats., will be revised.
Hearing Information
Date and Time: Location:
June 10, 2010 Mead Public Library
Thursday Rocca Meeting Room
at 1:30 PM 710 North 8th Street
Sheboygan, WI
Reasonable accommodations, including the provision of informational material in an alternative format, will be provided for qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. Contact Robert B. Eckdale in writing at the Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Air Management (AM/7), 101 S Webster, Madison, WI 53707; by E-mail to
Robert.Eckdale@wisconsin.gov; or by calling (608) 266-2856. A request must include specific information and be received at least 10 days before the date of the scheduled hearing.
Copies of the proposed rules and fiscal estimate
The proposed rule and supporting documents, including the fiscal estimate, may be viewed and downloaded from the
Administrative Rules System Web site which can be accessed through the link provided on the Proposed Air Pollution Control Rules Calendar at
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/ air/rules/calendar.htm. If you do not have Internet access, a printed copy of the proposed rule and supporting documents, including the fiscal estimate, may be obtained free of charge by contacting Robert B. Eckdale, Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Air Management (AM/7), 101 S. Webster St., Madison, WI, 53703, or by calling (608) 266-2856.
Submittal of Written Comments
Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before Monday, June 21, 2010. Written comments may be submitted by U.S. mail, fax, E-mail, or through the Internet and will have the same weight and effect as oral statements presented at the public hearing. Written comments and any questions on the proposed rules should be submitted to:
Chris Bovee
Department of Natural Resources
Bureau of Air Management (AM/7)
101 S. Webster Street, Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608 266-5542
Fax: 608 267-0560
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Natural Resources
Statute interpreted
Statutory authority
Explanation of agency authority
Section
110.20 (13)(b), Stats., gives the Department authority to establish the amount of the repair cost limit for the vehicle inspection and maintenance program. Section
227.11 (2) (a), Stats., gives agencies general rulemaking authority. Section
285.11(1), Stats., gives the Department authority to promulgate rules consistent with ch.
285, Stats. Section
285.30 (2), Stats., provides authority for the Department to adopt and revise emission limitations for motor vehicles.
Related statute or rule
The related statutes are ss.
110.20,
110.21, and
285.30, Stats. These sections specify requirements for motor vehicle emission inspections in Wisconsin. The first two sections apply to the Department of Transportation and the third section applies to the Department of Natural Resources. A related rule is ch.
Trans 131, Wis. Adm. Code. This chapter establishes the Department of Transportation's administrative interpretation of s.
110.20, Stats., relating to a motor vehicle emissions inspection program.
Plain language analysis
A motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program has been in effect in southeastern Wisconsin since 1984. The program is presently operating in the seven counties of Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Washington, and Waukesha. Initially, all vehicles were inspected by measuring tailpipe emission levels. Since July of 2001, however, all model year 1996 and newer cars and light trucks were inspected by scanning the vehicles' computerized second generation on-board diagnostic (OBD-II) systems. As of July, 2008, the program dropped tailpipe testing entirely and thereby inspected all vehicles by scanning the OBD-II systems. This change was the result of statutory changes in the 2007-2009 biennial budget which exempted from the I/M program the model years of vehicles not federally-required to be equipped with the OBD-II technology (model year 1995 and older cars and light trucks and model year 2006 and older heavy trucks).
Throughout the history of the I/M program, a vehicle failing the tailpipe test was eligible for a waiver of compliance if the cost of repairs to the vehicle exceeded the applicable repair cost limit and if other conditions specified in Trans 131, Wis. Adm. Code, were met. Prior to July, 2009, the program did not allow such waivers, referred to as “cost waivers", for vehicles failing the OBD-II inspection. The repair cost limits are currently provided in s.
NR 485.045, Wis. Adm. Code.
This rule is being proposed in response to two issues relating to the issuing of cost waivers: (1) the lower repair cost limits currently in effect for vehicles registered in Sheboygan County and (2) the I/M program's policy change to allow cost waivers for vehicles failing the OBD-II inspection, starting July, 2009. Descriptions of these two issues follow:
Sheboygan County:
For all I/M program counties except Sheboygan, the repair cost limit is $787 ($450 in 1989, adjusted annually for inflation, using the federal consumer price index). In Sheboygan County the repair cost limit is fixed at $200 for vehicles of a 1981 or newer model year and at $75 for older vehicles. Sheboygan County has had lower repair cost limits since its nonattainment classification established in 1992 was at a lower level than that for the other six counties. However, ozone levels in Sheboygan County have not improved as much as in the other six counties, in part due to the aid of federally-mandated reformulated gasoline in the other six counties. Presently, Sheboygan County has the highest ozone levels in the seven-county I/M program area.
OBD:
Prior to July, 2009, the I/M program did not issue any cost waivers for vehicles failing the OBD-II inspection. Cost waivers were not issued for OBD-II failures because the Wisconsin Department of Transportation had interpreted s.
Trans 131.05 (1) (j), Wis. Adm. Code, to mean that to pass a waiver equipment inspection, which is a prerequisite for receiving a waiver, the OBD-II system's malfunction indicator light (MIL) must be operational and non-active (that is, not lit). Such a condition could not exist when a vehicle fails the OBD-II inspection. Therefore, no cost waivers were issued for vehicles failing the OBD-II inspection and once the I/M program became OBD-II-only in July of 2008, the program did not issue any cost waivers at all.
Prior to the I/M program becoming OBD-II-only in July, 2008, the program also provided an alternative test, allowing a vehicle to be inspected regardless of the MIL status. However, now that the program administers only the OBD-II test, the DOT's Office of General Counsel has determined that DOT's prior interpretation of s.
Trans 131.05(1)(j), Wis. Adm. Code, was contrary to s.
110.20(13), Wis. Stats., since it prevented issuing a cost waiver to every inspected vehicle, regardless of the amount spent on repairs. Consequently, since July, 2009, the DOT has been implementing its new interpretation, thereby allowing cost waivers for vehicles failing by means of a lit MIL. The DOT is also in the process of amending Trans 131.05(1)(j), Wis. Adm. Code, to allow a cost waiver in certain circumstances even if a vehicle's MIL is unable to be turned off; thereby conforming their rule to statutory language.
For the six I/M program counties other than Sheboygan, the DNR is projecting that the resumption of cost waivers would not increase emission levels in those six counties above those projected in the Wisconsin's state implementation plan (SIP) for attaining and maintaining ozone air quality standards. However, the DNR is projecting that the current lower cost limits for Sheboygan County would increase the motor vehicle emissions in Sheboygan County by four percent, enough to exceed the emissions projected in the SIP. Raising the repair cost limit for Sheboygan County to the level used for the other six I/M program counties would enable Sheboygan County to achieve the emission levels projected in the SIP.
Rule summary
The DNR is proposing to expand the coverage of the inflation-adjusted, currently $787, repair cost limit in s.
NR 485.045, Wis. Adm. Code, to all counties subject to the I/M program, thereby raising the lower limits for Sheboygan County.
The DNR is also proposing to repeal the emission limitations in s.
NR 485.04, Wis. Adm. Code, for the following tests:
•
Evaporative system integrity (pressure) test
•
Evaporative system purge test
•
Steady-state tests
These tests provide no significant additional information regarding vehicle emission performance beyond that already provided by the OBD-II scans. Furthermore, the two evaporative system tests have never been conducted by the I/M program and are intrusive, involving the cutting or crimping of fuel vapor lines. The steady-state tests were effective early in the I/M program, but are no longer conducted. These tests are poor at identifying and diagnosing emission problems in today's vehicles.
Comparison with federal regulations
The proposed rule is consistent with the federal clean air act and the federal regulations for motor vehicle inspection and maintenance programs under that act. These regulations are found in
40 CFR 51.350 to
51.373.
Comparison with similar rules in adjacent states
Illinois is the only adjacent state that has a vehicle inspection and maintenance program. In Illinois the repair cost limit for a waiver is $450. Thus, the state of Illinois has not adjusted its repair cost limit for the increase in the federal consumer price index since 1989.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued guidance for adjusting the repair cost limit for inflation: Calculation of the I/M Waiver Adjusted for CPI, Office of Mobile Sources, U.S. EPA, EPA 420-B-99-011, December, 1999,
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/epg/b99011.pdf. The DNR has followed this guidance for calculating the repair cost limit. The consumer price index (CPI) adjustment for 1989 to 2008 was 1.7487, resulting in a repair cost limit for July, 2009, through June, 2010, of $450 * 1.7487 = $787.
Analysis and supporting documents used to determine the effect on small business
The only economic effect of the proposed rule is that the I/M-related repairs may be more expensive for some vehicles in Sheboygan County that what they would be under the current rule. The proposed rule would not affect repair costs for vehicles in the other six I/M program counties. The DNR estimates that under the proposed rule, the average cost to repair a failed vehicle during 2011 would be $416 throughout the seven-county program area. The DNR further estimates that under the current rule the average cost to repair a failed vehicle during 2011 would be only $200 for vehicles in Sheboygan County and the same $416 value for vehicles in the other six I/M program counties. Thus, the proposed rule is estimated to increase the average repair cost per failed vehicle in Sheboygan County by $216.
Small Business Impact
Small businesses that own vehicles subject to the I/M program have been and will continue to be affected by the I/M program in the same way that individual vehicle owners are affected. The proposed rule may have a small, but not significant, economic impact on those small businesses that own non-exempt vehicles registered in Sheboygan County. Improved fuel efficiency resulting from the more thorough repairs may offset some of these increased costs. The proposed rule will not impose any new requirements on small businesses.
Environmental Impact
The Department has made a preliminary determination that adoption of the proposed rules would not involve significant adverse environmental effects and would not need an environmental analysis under ch.
NR 150, Wis. Adm. Code. However, based on comments received, an environmental analysis may be prepared before proceeding. This analysis would summarize the Department's consideration of the impacts of the proposal and any reasonable alternatives.
Fiscal Estimate
The only fiscal effect of the proposed rule is that the I/M-related repairs may be more expensive for some vehicles in Sheboygan County than what they would be under the current rule. The proposed rule would not affect repair costs for vehicles in the other six I/M program counties. The DNR estimates that under the proposed rule, the average cost to repair a failed vehicle during 2011 would be $416 throughout the seven-county program area. The DNR further estimates that under the current rule the average cost to repair a failed vehicle during 2011 would be only $200 for vehicles in Sheboygan County and the same $416 value for vehicles in the other six I/M program counties. Thus, the proposed rule is estimated to increase the average repair cost per failed vehicle in Sheboygan County by $216. Since about seven percent of the vehicles fail the initial inspection and since vehicles are inspected every other year, the estimated annual average additional repair cost per inspected vehicle in Sheboygan County is: $216 * 0.07 * 0.5 = $7.56.
