§ 86.1012-84 - Suspension and revocation of certificates of conformity.  


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  • (a) The certificate of conformity is suspended with respect to any engine or vehicle failing pursuant to paragraph (b) of § 86.1010-84 effective from the time that testing of that engine or vehicle is completed.

    (b) The Administrator may suspend the certificate of conformity for a configuration which does not pass an SEA, pursuant to paragraph § 86.1010-84(c), based on the first test or all tests conducted on each engine or vehicle. This suspension will not occur before ten days after failure to pass the audit.

    (c)-(d) [Reserved]

    (e) If the results of testing pursuant to these regulations indicate that engines or vehicles of a particular configuration produced at one plant of a manufacturer do not conform to the regulations with respect to which the certificate of conformity was issued, the Administrator may suspend the certificate of conformity with respect to that configuration for engines or vehicles manufactured by the manufacturer at all other plants.

    (f) [Reserved]

    (g) The Administrator shall notify the manufacturer in writing of any suspension or revocation of a certificate of conformity in whole or in part: Except, That the certificate is immediately suspended with respect to any failed engines or vehicles as provided for in paragraph (a) of this section.

    (h) The Administrator may revoke a certificate of conformity for a configuration when the certificate has been suspended pursuant to paragraph (b), (c) or (e) of this section if the proposed remedy for the nonconformity, as reported by the manufacturer to the Administrator, is one requiring a design change or changes to the engine and/or emission control system as described in the Application for Certification of the affected configuration.

    (i) Once a certificate has been suspended for a failed engine or vehicle as provided for in paragraph (a) of this section, the manufacturer shall take the following actions:

    (1) Before the certificate is reinstated for that failed engine or vehicle,

    (i) Remedy the nonconformity, and

    (ii) Demonstrate that the engine or vehicle conforms to applicable standards or compliance levels by retesting the engine or vehicle in accordance with these regulations; and

    (2) Submit a written report to the Administrator, after successful completion of testing on the failed engine or vehicle, which contains a description of the remedy and test results for each engine or vehicle in addition to other information that may be required by this regulation.

    (j) Once a certificate for a failed configuration has been suspended pursuant to paragraph (b), (c) or (e) of this section, the manufacturer shall take the following actions before the Administrator will consider reinstating the certificate:

    (1) Submit a written report to the Administrator which identifies the reason for the noncompliance of the engines or vehicles, describes the proposed remedy, including a description of any proposed quality control and/or quality assurance measures to be taken by the manufacturer to prevent future occurrences of the problem, and states the date on which the remedies will be implemented; and

    (2) Demonstrate that the engine or vehicle configuration for which the certificate of conformity has been suspended does in fact comply with these regulations by testing engines or vehicles selected from normal production runs of that engine or vehicle configuration, at the plant(s) or associated storage facilities specified by the Administrator, in accordance with the conditions specified in the initial test order. If the manufacturer elects to continue testing individual engines or vehicles after suspension of a certificate, the certificate is reinstated for any engine or vehicle actually determined to be in conformance with the applicable standards or compliance levels through testing in accordance with the applicable test procedures, provided that the Administrator has not revoked the certificate pursuant to paragraph (h) of this section.

    (k) Once the certificate has been revoked for a configuration and the manufacturer desires to continue introduction into commerce of a modified version of that configuration, the following actions shall be taken before the Administrator may consider issuing a certificate for that modified configuration:

    (1) If the Administrator determines that the proposed change(s) in engine or vehicle design may have an effect on emission performance deterioration or, in the case of light-duty trucks, on fuel economy, the Administrator shall notify the manufacturer, within five (5) working days after receipt of the report in paragraph (h) of this section, whether subsequent testing under this subpart will be sufficient to evaluate the proposed change or changes or whether additional testing will be required; and

    (2) After implementing the change or changes intended to remedy the nonconformity, the manufacturer shall demonstrate that the modified engine or vehicle configuration does in fact conform with these regulations by testing engines or vehicles selected from normal production runs of that modified engine or vehicle configuration in accordance with the conditions specified in the initial test order. This testing will be considered by the Administrator to satisfy the testing requirements of § 86.078-32 or § 86.079-33 if the Administrator has so notifed the manufacturer. If the subsequent audit results in passing of the audit at the level of the standards or compliance levels, if applicable, the Administrator shall reissue or amend the certificate, as the case may be, to include that configuration, provided that the manufacturer has satisfied the testing requirements of paragraph (k)(1) of this section. If the subsequent audit is failed, the revocation remains in effect. Any design change approvals under this subpart are limited to the configuration affected by the test order.

    (l) At any time subsequent to an initial suspension of a certificate of conformity for a test engine or vehicle pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, but not later than fifteen (15) days or such other period as may be allowed by the Administrator after notification of the Administrator's decision to suspend or revoke a certificate of conformity in whole or in part pursuant to paragraphs (b), (c), (d), (e), or (h) of this section, a manufacturer may request a hearing as to whether the tests have been properly conducted or any sampling methods have been properly applied.

    (m) After the Administrator suspends or revokes a certificate of conformity pursuant to this section or notifies a manufacturer of his intent to suspend, revoke or void a certificate of conformity under paragraph § 86.087-30(e), and prior to the commencement of a hearing under § 86.1014-84, if the manufacturer demonstrates to the Administrator's satisfaction that the decision to suspend, revoke or void the certificate was based on erroneous information, the Administrator shall reinstate the certificate.

    (n) To permit a manufacturer to avoid storing non-test engines or vehicles when conducting an audit of a configuration subsequent to suspension or revocation of the certificate of conformity for that configuration resulting from failure of an SEA, it may request that the Administrator conditionally reinstate the certificate for that configuration. The Administrator may reinstate the certificate subject to the condition that the manufacturer consents to recall all engines or vehicles of that configuration produced from the time the certificate is conditionally reinstated if the configuration fails the subsequent audit at the level of the standard and to remedy any nonconformity at no expense to the owner.