98-8364. Manufacturing Incentives for Alternative Fuel Vehicles  

  • [Federal Register Volume 63, Number 61 (Tuesday, March 31, 1998)]
    [Rules and Regulations]
    [Pages 15322-15324]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 98-8364]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
    
    National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
    
    49 CFR Part 538
    
    [Docket No. NHTSA-98-3433]
    RIN 2127-AG63
    
    
    Manufacturing Incentives for Alternative Fuel Vehicles
    
    AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
    Department of Transportation (DOT).
    
    ACTION: Denial of petition for reconsideration.
    
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    SUMMARY: This document denies a petition for reconsideration of the 
    agency's decision to set a 200 mile minimum driving range for dual 
    fueled passenger automobiles other than electric vehicles.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The following persons at the National 
    Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, S.W, 
    Washington, DC 20590.
        For non-legal issues: Ms. Henrietta L. Spinner, Consumer Programs 
    Division, Office of Planning and Consumer Programs, National Highway 
    Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 
    20590, (202) 366-4802.
        For legal issues: Otto Matheke, Office of the Chief Counsel, NCC-
    20, telephone (202) 366-5253, facsimile (202) 366-3820.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    
    I. Establishment of a Minimum Driving Range for Dual Fueled 
    Passenger Automobiles
    
        On April 2, 1996, NHTSA published a final rule in the Federal 
    Register (61 FR 14507) establishing a minimum driving range for dual 
    fueled passenger automobiles other than electric vehicles. The rule 
    also established gallons equivalent measurements for gaseous fuels 
    other than natural gas and eliminated provisions relating to the 
    granting of alternative range requirements for alternative fueled 
    passenger automobiles not powered by electricity.
        The agency promulgated this rule in response to amendments in the 
    Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT) (Pub. L. 102-486) that expanded the 
    number of alternative fuels in the corporate average fuel economy 
    (CAFE) law, now recodified as Chapter 329 of title 49, U.S.C. As 
    amended, section 32901(c) requires dual fueled passenger automobiles to 
    meet specified criteria, including meeting a minimum driving range, in 
    order to qualify for special treatment under sections 32905 and 32906 
    in the calculation of their fuel economy for purposes of the CAFE 
    standards.
        One change made by EPACT concerning driving ranges was that, under 
    section 32901(c), the minimum driving range set by NHTSA for dual 
    fueled passenger automobiles other than electric passenger automobiles 
    could not be less than 200 miles. The EPACT amendments also provided 
    that the agency may not, in response to petitions from manufacturers, 
    set an alternative range for a particular model or models that is lower 
    than 200 miles, except for electric passenger automobiles.
        The EPACT amendments necessitated amending part 538. In the final 
    rule, the agency established gallons equivalent measurements for the 
    wider range of alternative fuels included in the EPACT amendments and 
    deleted provisions relating to the establishment of alternative minimum 
    driving ranges for non-electric alternative-fueled passenger 
    automobiles. In regard to the minimum driving range, NHTSA concluded 
    that both the text and the legislative history of these amendments 
    indicated that the agency was required to set a minimum driving range 
    of not less than 200 miles for all dual fueled passenger automobiles 
    other than electric passenger automobiles.
    
    II. Petition for Reconsideration of the Minimum Driving Range
    
        On May 24, 1996, the agency received a petition from the National 
    Biodiesel Board (NBB) requesting reconsideration of NHTSA's decision to 
    set a minimum driving range of 200 miles for all dual fueled passenger 
    automobiles other than electric vehicles.
        NBB requested that the agency (1) clarify the status of biodiesel 
    as an alternative fuel, (2) adopt a definition of dual fueled vehicles 
    to include vehicles operating on a mixture of alternative fuel and 
    gasoline or diesel fuel, and (3) find that a passenger vehicle 
    operating on a mixture of alternative fuel and gasoline or diesel fuel 
    has satisfied the minimum driving range requirement of 200 miles if the 
    alternative fuel component of the mixture in the vehicle's fuel system 
    would propel the
    
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    passenger automobile a distance of 200 miles.
        The agency notes that the three points raised by NBB in its 
    petition are outside of the scope of the rulemaking NBB asks the agency 
    to reconsider. The April 2, 1996 final rule did not address the 
    definition of alternative fuels, alternative fuel vehicle, or prescribe 
    the manner in which an alternative fuel passenger automobile may meet 
    the minimum driving range. Therefore, each of these issues may be more 
    properly viewed as a request for interpretation rather than a request 
    for reconsideration. The agency has, however, examined NBB's requests 
    and will address them below.
    
    III. Response To Petition for Reconsideration
    
        The petitioner's first request essentially asked that the agency 
    confirm that biodiesel is an alternative fuel. NBB contends that 
    biodiesel is an alternative fuel, that its status as an alternative 
    fuel was recognized by Congress when the EPACT amendments were adopted, 
    and that NHTSA should amend Section 538.4(a) to include biodiesel and 
    neat biodiesel as alternative fuels.
    
        Part 538.4(a) reads as follows:
        538.4  Definitions.
        (a) Statutory terms. (1) The terms alternative fuel, alternative 
    fueled automobile, and dual fueled automobile, are used as defined 
    in 49 U.S.C. 32901(a).
    
    NBB requests that 538.4(a) be amended to repeat the statutory 
    definitions incorporated by reference and further seeks to have an 
    explanatory parenthetical added to the definition of alternative fuel 
    as set forth in section 32901(a)(1)(I), 49 U.S.C. 32901(a)(1)(I). This 
    section defines alternative fuel as ``fuels (except alcohol) derived 
    from biological materials * * * '' NBB requests that the parenthetical 
    ``(including neat biodiesel)'' be inserted in this definition following 
    the phrase ``biological materials.''
        NHTSA regards such an amendment as unnecessary. The agency notes 
    that neat biodiesel, which is a fuel entirely derived from biological 
    materials, is already within the definition of an alternative fuel 
    under section 32901(a)(1)(I). The agency also notes that elsewhere in 
    NBB's petition, NBB contends that biodiesel blends such as B20, a 
    mixture of 20% biodiesel and 80% petroleum derived diesel, should be 
    accorded the status of an alternative fuel. Section 32901(a)(1)(K) 
    grants the agency the authority to designate as alternative fuels ``any 
    other fuel * * * that is not substantially petroleum and that would 
    yield substantial energy security and environmental benefits.'' Thus, 
    the agency may, by regulation, establish that certain fuels are 
    alternative fuels when such a determination is appropriate. However, 
    B20 is substantially derived from petroleum. NHTSA concludes that to 
    deem B20 as an alternative fuel would be in direct contravention of 
    Chapter 329. Biodiesel that is derived entirely from organic material 
    (neat biodiesel) is, under section 32901(a)(1)(I), clearly an 
    alternative fuel and NHTSA believes that the existing definition and 
    regulations leave no doubt on this point. Biodiesel blends which are 
    substantially petroleum, such as B20, are not alternative fuels under 
    section 32901(a)(1)(K) and the agency cannot deem them as such. As 
    NBB's petition does not seek clarification regarding other biodiesel 
    blends, NHTSA will not presently exercise its authority to establish 
    the concentration at which these fuels are not substantially derived 
    from petroleum.
        The petitioner also requests that NHTSA issue regulations 
    establishing that vehicles operating on a mixture of an alternative 
    fuel and a petroleum based fuel are alternative fuel vehicles. In 
    support of its request, NBB asserts that in regulations issued pursuant 
    to the Alternative Fuel Transportation Program, the Department of 
    Energy (DOE) has recognized that dual fueled vehicles operating on a 
    mixture of alternative and petroleum fuels are dual fueled vehicles.
        The agency notes that EPACT broadened the scope of the incentives 
    contained in Chapter 329, encouraging the production of alternative 
    fuel vehicles, as part of a national effort to reduce the dependence of 
    the United States on petroleum based fuels. While other statutory 
    schemes may recognize that vehicles operating on a mixture of 
    alternative fuels and petroleum are alternative fuel vehicles, NHTSA 
    concludes that such vehicles do not qualify as alternative fuel 
    vehicles for the purposes of Chapter 329. Section 32901(a)(2) defines 
    an alternative fuel vehicle as either a dedicated vehicle or a dual 
    fueled vehicle. Dedicated vehicles are defined in section 32901(a)(7) 
    as automobiles that operate only on an alternative fuel. Dual fueled 
    vehicles are defined in section 32901(a)(8) as follows:
    
        (8) dual fueled automobile means an automobile that--
        (A) is capable of operating on alternative fuel and on gasoline 
    or diesel fuel;
        (B) provides equal or superior energy efficiency, as calculated 
    for the applicable model year during fuel economy testing for the 
    United States Government, when operating on alternative fuel as when 
    operating on gasoline or diesel fuel;
        (C) for model years 1993-1995 for an automobile capable of 
    operating on a mixture of an alternative fuel and gasoline or diesel 
    fuel and if the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
    decides to extend the application of this subclause, for an 
    additional period ending not later than the end of the last model 
    year to which section 32905(b) and (d) of this title applies, 
    provides equal or superior energy efficiency, as calculated for the 
    applicable model year during fuel economy testing for the 
    Government, when operating on a mixture of alternative fuel and 
    gasoline or diesel fuel containing exactly 50 percent gasoline or 
    diesel fuel as when operating on gasoline or diesel fuel; and
        (D) for a passenger automobile, meets or exceeds the minimum 
    driving range prescribed under subsection (c) of this section.
    
    Examination of this section compels the conclusion that Congress 
    intended that for the purposes of Chapter 329's incentive program that 
    dual fueled vehicles are, with one limited exception, vehicles 
    operating either on an alternative fuel or a petroleum fuel but not on 
    a mixture of the two. Subsection (A) describes a vehicle that operates 
    on a petroleum or alternative fuel but not a mixture of both. 
    Subsection (B) limits dual fuel vehicles to those vehicles that offer 
    equal or superior energy efficiency when operating on an alternative 
    fuel, thereby indicating that the two modes of operation are exclusive. 
    Subsection (C) indicates that vehicles operating on a mixture of 
    alternative fuel and gasoline or diesel fuel may only be considered as 
    dual fueled automobiles for the 1993-1995 model years (unless extended 
    by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to the 2004 
    model year) when such vehicles offer equal or superior energy 
    efficiency when operating on a 50/50 mix of alternative fuel and diesel 
    fuel or gasoline. Therefore, the statutory text of section 32901(a)(8) 
    indicates that Congress did not intend to make incentives available for 
    dual fueled vehicles operating on a mix of fuels except under the 
    limited circumstances enunciated in 32901(a)(8)(C). As the period set 
    by Congress in which such vehicles could be considered as dual fueled 
    vehicles has expired and the EPA has not extended this period by 
    regulation, NHTSA concludes that under Chapter 329 a dual fueled 
    vehicle is one that is capable of operating on either an alternative 
    fuel or gasoline or diesel fuel but not a mixture of both 
    simultaneously. This is not to say, however, that a vehicle using a 
    fuel that is composed of gasoline or diesel fuel and an alternative 
    fuel cannot be a dual
    
    [[Page 15324]]
    
    fueled vehicle; under section 32901(a)(1)(K) a mix of gasoline or 
    diesel fuel and another substance may be an alternative fuel if it is 
    not substantially petroleum and yields substantial environmental and 
    energy benefits.
        NBB's petition also requests that NHTSA determine that a vehicle 
    operating on a mix of biodiesel and diesel fuel be deemed to have met 
    the minimum driving range requirement of 200 miles if the biodiesel 
    fuel portion of the mixture in the vehicle's fuel tank would propel the 
    vehicle that distance. As noted above, the agency concludes that 
    Congress did not intend that vehicles operating on a mixture of 
    alternative and petroleum fuel be eligible as alternative fuel vehicles 
    under Chapter 329's incentive program unless that mix is itself an 
    alternative fuel. NBB contends that the energy content of the 
    alternative fuel is the relevant criteria for determining range and 
    further argues that there is no practical difference between a vehicle 
    operating on a 30 percent biodiesel mix and one with two separate fuel 
    systems where the biodiesel tank holds 30 percent of the total fuel 
    capacity. In the latter case, NBB submits, the vehicle would clearly 
    meet the range requirement if the biodiesel propelled it 200 miles. If, 
    according to NBB, the vehicle that mixes the two fuels in one tank 
    cannot be deemed to meet the range requirement, the purposes of the 
    incentive program will be frustrated and lead to an unequitable result. 
    However, NBB's argument fails in that a vehicle operating on a mixture 
    of 30 percent biodiesel and 70 percent diesel is not using an 
    alternative fuel. In the absence of data demonstrating otherwise, such 
    a fuel is substantially petroleum and therefore not an alternative fuel 
    under section 32901(a)(1). The passenger automobile operating with a 
    dual fuel system would, however, qualify as a dual fueled passenger 
    automobile if it could reach 200 miles on 100 percent biodiesel because 
    such a fuel is an alternative fuel.
        In response to the petition, the agency has reconsidered its 
    decision to set a 200 mile minimum driving range for non-electric dual 
    fueled passenger automobiles when operating on an alternative fuel. As 
    explained below, the agency is, on reconsideration, reaffirming that 
    decision.
        The petition raises points that are beyond the scope of the final 
    rule establishing the 200 mile minimum driving range. The agency has 
    nonetheless examined the merits of the petitioner's requests and 
    concludes that the relief requested would have been denied even if it 
    had been within the scope of the final rule. NHTSA concludes that the 
    existing text of part 538 and the statutory definitions incorporated 
    therein by reference include neat biodiesel as an alternative fuel. The 
    agency also concludes that vehicles operating simultaneously on a 
    mixture of an alternative fuel and gasoline or diesel fuel are not dual 
    fueled vehicles for the purposes of Chapter 329's incentive program 
    unless that mixture qualifies as an alternative fuel under section 
    32901(a)(1)(K). Similarly, NHTSA also concludes that a dual fueled 
    passenger automobile may not meet the range requirements simply by 
    virtue of having a percentage of alternative fuel that may propel it 
    200 miles. The range requirement may only be met by passenger 
    automobiles that may travel the required distance while being propelled 
    by a fuel or a fuel mixture that is, by itself, an alternative fuel as 
    defined by Congress or by NHTSA regulation. Accordingly, the agency is 
    denying the petition.
    
        Issued on: March 26, 1998.
    L. Robert Shelton,
    Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
    [FR Doc. 98-8364 Filed 3-30-98; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
03/31/1998
Department:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Entry Type:
Rule
Action:
Denial of petition for reconsideration.
Document Number:
98-8364
Pages:
15322-15324 (3 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Docket No. NHTSA-98-3433
RINs:
2127-AG63: Manufacturing Incentives for Alternative Fuel Vehicles
RIN Links:
https://www.federalregister.gov/regulations/2127-AG63/manufacturing-incentives-for-alternative-fuel-vehicles
PDF File:
98-8364.pdf
CFR: (1)
49 CFR 538