[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 7, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13730-13732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5569]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6948-4]
Public Participation in Activities Relating to the 1998 Agreement
on Global Technical Regulations; Statement of Policy
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of public workshop.
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SUMMARY: EPA is holding a public workshop and soliciting public
comments with regard to the development of the Agency's policy
concerning its participation in the United Nations/Economic Commission
for Europe, World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations
(WP.29) and the development of regulations under the 1998 ``Agreement
Concerning the Establishing of Global Technical Regulations for Wheeled
Vehicles, Equipment and Parts.'' This notice is also soliciting comment
on the involvement of the public in the Agency's participation in the
development of global technical regulations under the 1998 Agreement.
Finally, this notice sets forth the Agency's priorities in
participating in the global regulatory harmonization process. The
Agency intends to issue its policy following the receipt of comments
solicited here.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which,
together with EPA, negotiated the Agreement on behalf of the U.S., will
participate in this workshop.
DATES: Written comments to the agency must be received by April 18,
2001. The public workshop will be held on March 19, 2001, from 9 a.m.
to 1 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Comments must refer to docket number A-2001-08 and be
submitted (preferably 2 copies) to EPA's Air Docket at the following
address: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Air Docket (6102),
Room M-1500, 401 M Street SW., Washington, DC 20460. The Docket Office
is open between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday except on
government holidays. You can reach the Air Docket by telephone at (202)
260-7548, and by facsimile at (202) 260-4400. We may charge a
reasonable fee for copying docket materials, as provided in 40 CFR Part
2. Public workshop: The public workshop will be held in room 1332A of
the EPA Headquarters, Ariel Rios Building North, 1300 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW, Washington DC. Those persons wishing to participate in the
workshop should contact Mr. Kenneth Feith by telephone, (202) 564-1679,
or email, ``[email protected]'' no later than March 15, 2001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Kenneth Feith, Office of Air and
Radiation, Mail Code 6103A, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Washington, DC. 20460, Telephone: (202) 564-1679; Fax: (202) 564-1557;
email ``[email protected]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
A. Opening of 1998 Agreement for signature
B. Purpose of and need for 1998 Agreement
C. Purpose of this notice
II. Highlights of 1998 Agreement
III. Notice of EPA participation under the Global Agreement and
mechanisms for public involvement
A. Access to information
B. Notice of participation in regulatory activity under the 1998
Global Agreement
C. Opportunity to comment
D. Establishment of a continuing forum
IV. The Agency's priorities in participating in the global
harmonization process
V. Public workshop
VI. Written comments
I. Introduction
A. The 1998 Agreement
The U.S. became the first signatory to the United Nations/Economic
Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) Agreement Concerning the Establishing of
Global Technical Regulations for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts
Which Can Be Fitted And/or Be Used on Wheeled Vehicles (the
``Agreement''). The 1998 Agreement entered into force on August 28,
2000. The Agreement provides for the establishment of global technical
regulations regarding wheeled vehicle safety, environmental
performance, energy sources and theft prevention.
B. Purpose of and Need for 1998 Agreement
The decision of the U.S. to become a Contracting Party to the 1998
Agreement and participate in a global regulation development process is
a critical step toward a cooperative worldwide identification of best
safety, environmental and energy practices.
Becoming a Contracting Party to the 1998 Agreement accomplishes
several purposes for the U.S. and the EPA in particular. It gives the
U.S. a vote in the establishment of voluntary global environmental
regulations for wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts under the United
Nations. Such participation enables the U.S. to take a leading role in
the design and development of globally harmonized mobile source
environmental regulations that can be adopted worldwide. Further, the
1998 Agreement ensures that U.S. mobile source regulatory standards
will be considered in any effort to develop such harmonized global
technical regulations for mobile sources.
C. Purpose of this Notice
There are three main purposes of this notice. First, it announces
the procedures that EPA intends to follow to ensure that its activities
under the 1998 Agreement are open and transparent to the public.
Second, it specifies the priorities that will guide the Agency during
its participation in activities under the 1998 Agreement. One of these
priorities is to promote and establish environmental standards for
mobile sources that reflect the best environmental practices around the
world. Lastly, the notice announces a public workshop on March 19, 2001
at which these issues will be discussed with interested stakeholders.
[[Page 13731]]
II. Highlights of 1998 Agreement
The key aspects of the 1998 Agreement are summarized below to aid
persons unfamiliar with its provisions. The complete text of the
Agreement can be found in docket A-2001-08 and on the Internet at the
address provided herein.
The Agreement establishes a global process under the
United Nations, Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE), for developing
and harmonizing global technical regulations ensuring high levels of
environmental protection, safety, energy efficiency and anti-theft
performance of wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts which can be
fitted and/or be used on wheeled vehicles. (Preamble, Art. 1).
Members of the ECE, as well as members of the United
Nations that participate in ECE activities, are eligible to become
Contracting Parties. Specialized agencies and organizations that have
been granted consultative status by the UN/ECE may participate in that
capacity without voting privilege. (Art. 2)
The Agreement was entered into force on August 28, 2000,
when the required minimum of eight (8) countries or regional economic
integration organizations became Contracting Parties. (Art. 11) The
current list of Contracting Parties is: the United States, Canada,
Japan, France, the United Kingdom, the European Community, Germany, the
Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of
Korea.
The Agreement explicitly recognizes the importance of
continuously improving and seeking high levels of safety and the right
of national and subnational authorities, (e.g., California's authority
under the Clean Air Act to set separate emission standards), to adopt
and maintain technical regulations that are more stringently protective
of health and the environment than those established at the global
level. (Preamble)
The Agreement explicitly states that one of its purposes
is to ensure that actions under the Agreement do not promote, or result
in, a lowering of environmental protection or safety within the
jurisdiction of the Contracting Parties, including the subnational
level. (Art. 1)
To the extent consistent with achieving high levels of
environmental protection and vehicle safety, the Agreement also seeks
to promote global harmonization of wheeled vehicle regulations.
(Preamble)
The Agreement emphasizes that the development of global
technical regulations will be transparent. (Art. 1)
To complement the Agreement's transparency provisions, EPA
will take steps to ensure transparency in its consideration of global
regulations being developed under the Agreement. EPA will ensure that
key documents developed under the Agreement are placed in the
established public docket for this activity and on the Internet as they
become available. Further, EPA will accept public comments on such
documents.
The Agreement provides two different paths to the
establishment of global technical regulations. The first is the
harmonization of existing national regulatory standards or their
improvement. The second is the development of new global technical
regulations where there are no existing regulatory standards. (Article
6.2 and 6.3)
The process for developing a harmonized global technical
regulation includes a technical review of existing regulations of the
Contracting Parties, relevant UN/ECE regulations and international
voluntary standards. If available, comparative assessments of the
benefits of these regulations (also known as functional equivalence
assessments) will be reviewed. (Art. 1.1.2, Article 6.2)
The process for developing a new global technical
regulation includes the assessment of technical and economic
feasibility and a comparative evaluation of the potential benefits and
cost effectiveness of alternative regulatory requirements and test
method(s) by which compliance is to be demonstrated. (Article 6.3)
To establish any global technical regulation, there must
be a consensus vote. Thus, if any Contracting Party votes against a
recommended global technical regulation, it would not be established.
(Annex B, Article 7.2)
The establishment of a global technical regulation does
not obligate Contracting Parties to adopt that regulation. Contracting
Parties retain the right to choose whether or not to adopt any
technical regulation established as a global technical regulation under
the Agreement. (Preamble, Article 7)
Consistent with the recognition of that right, Contracting
Parties have only a limited obligation when a global technical
regulation is established under the Agreement. Any Contracting Party
that voted to establish the regulation must initiate those national
procedures that are used to adopt any domestic regulation. (Article 7)
For the U.S., this would mean initiating the rulemaking
process either by issuing an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(ANPRM) or a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). If the U.S. EPA were
to adopt a global technical regulation into national law, it would do
so in accordance with all applicable procedural and substantive
statutory provisions, including the Administrative Procedure Act, the
Clean Air Act, the Noise Control Act and comparable provisions of other
relevant statutes.
The Agreement allows for global technical regulations to
contain a ``global'' level of stringency for most parties and
``alternative'' levels of stringency for developing countries. In this
way, all countries can participate in the development, establishment
and adoption of global technical regulations. The Agreement notes that
a developing country may initially adopt one of the lower levels of
stringency and later successively adopt higher levels of stringency.
(Article 4)
III. Notice of EPA Participation Under the Global Agreement and
Mechanisms for Public Involvement
The Agency believes that it must have flexibility so that its
activities and procedures attendant to the 1998 Global Agreement can
evolve easily and quickly as the U.S. gains experience in implementing
the Agreement in a manner that advances environmental protection and
involves the public.
EPA recognizes that its activities under the 1998 Agreement could
lead to the modification of its existing regulations or the possible
adoption of new globally harmonized regulations. Accordingly, EPA plans
to provide the public with access to pertinent information developed
under the global process. The EPA will also provide the public with
adequate time to review and comment on any potential international
regulatory activity that the US is considering for adoption. To this
end, the Agency intends to provide:
A. Access to Information
The agency intends to publish an annual calendar of meetings and
listing of global technical regulations under consideration by Working
Party--29. As documents generated under the Global Agreement become
available in English to EPA, the agency intends to place them in a
docket and, whenever possible, make them Internet accessible as well.
B. Notice of Participation in Regulatory Activity Under the 1998 Global
Agreement
The EPA intends to publish in the Federal Register a list of those
regulatory activities under the Global
[[Page 13732]]
Agreement where the U.S. intends to participate in their development.
The Agency will provide in the notice a description of the issues and
the basis for U.S. participation.
Many or all of these documents are currently available on the
website of the UNECE World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle
Regulations: http://www.unece.org/trans/main/welcwp29.htm
C. Opportunity to Comment
The agency proposes to seek public comment at key points during the
development of global technical regulations. In the case of a proposal
submitted by the U.S. for a new global technical regulation or the
harmonization of existing regulations, the EPA will give notice, as
stated above, and request comment.
However, if the contemplated international regulation concerns a
top environmental priority which needs to be addressed by the issuance
of a regulation in the U.S., then the Agency will publish a Federal
Register notice under the appropriate environmental statute.
When the administrative body (Working Party 29) determines that a
draft global regulation is suitable for submission to the Contracting
Parties of the 1998 Agreement for their consideration, the EPA will
seek public review and comment. The EPA will provide for adequate time
for receipt and review of any comments before the U.S. exercises its
vote on whether to adopt such regulation as a global regulation under
the United Nations Agreement. It should be emphasized that a U.S. vote
to adopt a regulation under the Agreement only obligates the U.S., or
any other Contracting Party, to initiate its domestic regulatory
process. The U.S., or any other Contracting Party, is not compelled to
adopt the global regulation into domestic law.
D. Establishment of a Continuing Forum
The Agency seeks comment regarding the desirability of holding
periodic public meetings to provide interested parties an opportunity
to comment on any information they have gained from various sources
including the Federal Register and the Internet.
IV. The Agency's Priorities in Participating in the Global
Harmonization Process
The Agency reaffirms its commitment to the harmonization of
environmental regulations for wheeled vehicles, equipment and
components, including engines. However, it will, as a matter of U.S.
policy, recognize the sovereign right of any country to set regulations
that provide an appropriate level of protection for that country. To
that end, the EPA is committed to the development or harmonization of
global regulations that will provide overall public health protection.
As a matter of policy, the U.S. will not consider the adoption of
global regulations that would diminish the level of environmental
protection of existing regulations in the United States solely to
achieve harmonization.
The Agency is also developing a list of recommended regulations
that it believes should be candidates for future harmonization actions.
This list, which will be formally submitted to the United Nations under
this Agreement and kept in a compendium of technical regulations, will
include both final U.S. EPA regulations that we believe should be
seriously considered for adoption by other countries as well as future
technical regulations in areas where new requirements should be
developed. Examples of regulations that could be included in the
compendium include the Tier 2 program, the 2007 Heavy-duty diesel
program, the On-board diagnostic program, the development of driving
cycles for on-highway motorcycles, and the next phase of standards for
compression-ignition nonroad engines. We are interested in receiving
comments on the types of actions EPA should be including in the
compendium of regulations that will be submitted under the guidelines
of the Agreement.
V. Public Workshop
All interested persons and organizations are invited to attend a
workshop on the issues raised in this notice. The agency intends to
conduct the workshop informally. The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) which, together with EPA, negotiated the
Agreement on behalf of the U.S., will participate in this workshop. An
EPA official will briefly describe the topics discussed in this notice
and then open the floor for public comment.
Any person planning to participate should contact Mr. Kenneth Feith
at the address and telephone number given at the beginning of this
notice, no later than 10 calendar days before the workshop.
VI. Comments
The Agency invites all interested parties to submit written
comments. The agency notes that participation in the public workshop is
not a prerequisite for submission of written comments. Written comments
should be sent to the address specified above and follow the
requirements stated therein.
Dated: February 27, 2001.
Robert D. Brenner,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 01-5569 Filed 3-6-01; 8:45 am]
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