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PROPOSAL:

Set Public Hearing July 10, 1998, to Adopt Proposed Amended
Rule 1610 Old-Vehicle Scrapping

SYNOPSIS:

In response to the Governing Board’s direction to review Rule 1610 and its implementation, staff has developed amendments that will improve the overall effectiveness of the rule. The proposed amendments will enhance the enforceability of the rule, improve and expand the vehicle selection and acceptability criteria, and result in an improved implementation consistent with the original goal and intent of the rule.

COMMITTEE:

Technology Committee, June 26, 1998, to be Reviewed

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Set a Public Hearing July 10, 1998 to adopt Proposed Amended
Rule 1610 Old-Vehicle Scrapping.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Acting Executive Officer

Background

The proposed amendments represent an initial response to Governing Board member and public concerns regarding the enforceability and overall effectiveness of Rule 1610. In conjunction with Governing Board's Environmental Justice Initiatives and ARB's work pursuant to SB 501, AQMD staff will continue to evaluate trading issues, such as mobile versus stationary source, adequate public health protection of communities surrounding emission credit users, length of credit life, credit calculation method, etc. Staff will convene a working group consisting of Rule 1610 stakeholders to address these issues, specific to Rule 1610 applications. Additional actions may be proposed to address these issues through upcoming rulemaking activity on Rule 1142: Marine Tank Vessel Operations, and Proposed Rule 2500: Intercredit Trading. Furthermore, Rule 1610 may be revisited early next year based on ARB's evaluation and rulemaking on old vehicle scrapping. The Governing Board directed staff, with the assistance of the Technology Committee, to review the fundamental principles of the rule and, if necessary, improve the vehicle eligibility criteria and enforcement mechanisms to effect greater certainty that the rule’s implementation was achieving its intended goal and purpose. It should also be noted that Health and Safety Code Section 40923 prohibits the AQMD from adopting rules that have potential significant air quality impacts without proper public noticing at the beginning of the year.

These amendments are based on public input and a compilation of internal staff ad-hoc Rule 1610 Review Group recommendations that were presented to the Technology Committee on April 24, 1998. Since approximately 22,000 vehicles have been scrapped since late 1993, significant reliance has been placed on the experience of Enforcement staff in formulating and refining these amendments. After careful consideration of the available information and input received during the rule development process, staff has determined that, the proposed amendments can further improve the overall effectiveness of the program and help ensure an implementation that achieves the rule’s objectives.

Proposal

Paragraphs (g)(2), (g)(3), and (g)(4) add extensive language, detailing an expanded array of eligibility criteria and inspection test mechanisms. Specifically, these paragraphs add a full complement of visual and functional checks to facilitate vehicle eligibility enforcement. Paragraph (g)(4), in particular, includes a provision that would require each vehicle to be driven on public roads for at least three miles, subsequent to initial submittal of the vehicle at the scrapping site. The primary intent of this proposed requirement, as well as the other vehicle eligibility requirements, is to help ensure that critical vehicle components are present and function as necessary to support the assumptions of a three-year average remaining useful life and an annual mileage accrual of 4,900 to 6,400 miles.

As an additional enhancement of vehicle eligibility criteria, subdivision (h) was added to require documented evidence of insurance over the most recent six months prior to vehicle scrapping. This serves two purposes. First, it provides additional assurance that vehicles are usable, since the owner is providing insurance coverage for that vehicle in the current period. Second, the provision minimizes overlap with the natural retirement of usable vehicles where the insurance coverage has lapsed and the owner scraps the vehicle anyway rather than incur the relatively high cost of mandated insurance.

Subdivision (i) was added to require a smog check of vehicles that are within three months of a required smog check renewal. This provision minimizes any overlap with the vehicle scrappage program incorporated in the enhanced smog check program.

Paragraph (o)(1) improves enforceability by adding specific requirements for the subsequent retesting of vehicles failing to satisfy all the eligibility requirements pertaining to the visual and functional inspection tests. Paragraph (o)(2) facilitates enforcement actions by adding a requirement for the scrapper to provide vehicle space for the District’s post-acceptance inspection and auditing during required three-day holding periods. Paragraph (o)(5) adds language to specify enforcement penalty actions to be used by the District during the post-acceptance inspection.

To ensure more efficient use of the District’s resources, and to make it more cost-effective to send AQMD inspectors to check vehicles, paragraph (d)(2) was added to require a minimum of 15 vehicles to be scheduled on any single day of Rule 1610 scrapping.

Currently, Rule 1610 requires entities intending to scrap vehicles under the rule to submit in advance a scrapping plan. To further ensure that the improvements in the rule’s enforceability are understood by and legally binding to current scrappers, paragraph (c)(2) adds language to require them to submit a revised scrapping plan. In addition, staff intends to seek the Governing Board's concurrence for staff to provide full coverage of the vehicle selection and inspection process utilized by Licensed Scrappers.

AQMP & Legal Mandates

The proposed amendments provide greater specificity for the bases of the credit generation and MSERC calculations. Therefore, the proposed amendments to Rule 1610 provide no possibility for an adverse effect on air quality or emissions limitations, and are consistent with the AQMP.

CEQA & Socioeconomic Analysis

The AQMD has reviewed the proposed project pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15002(k) ? Three Step Process, to determine which type of CEQA document to prepare for the proposed action. The AQMD has determined that the proposed amendments to Rule 1610 are exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 ? Review for Exemption, since the activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. A Notice of Exemption will be sent to the county clerks upon approval by the Governing Board. Since the proposed amendments are administrative in nature, they do not result in any adverse socioeconomic impacts. However, additional administrative costs associated with the proposed amendments will be incurred relative to the additional time spent on vehicle inspection, confirming documentation, and recordkeeping. To recover the financial impacts of this enhanced enforcement presence in the field, staff intends to develop amendments to Rule 309 to be presented to the Governing Board in May 1999 as part of the overall Regulation III amendment process.

Attachments

A. Proposed Amended Rule 1610

B. Staff Report

C. Old Vehicle Scrapping Survey Report

D. Presentation to the Technology Committee Meeting

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