SB 213 – AS INTRODUCED
2005 SESSION
08/09
SENATE BILL 213
AN ACT authorizing the department of environmental services to adopt rules from the California Air Resources Board.
COMMITTEE: Transportation and Interstate Cooperation
This bill authorizes the department of environmental services to adopt rules from the California Air Resources Board.
This bill was requested by the department of environmental services.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
05-1005
08/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Five
AN ACT authorizing the department of environmental services to adopt rules from the California Air Resources Board.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Purpose and Findings. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has determined that New Hampshire is in violation of federal air quality standards established to protect public health and the environment, and that the state is subject to certain requirements to reduce emissions of air pollutants under the federal Clean Air Act. Previously the general court, under 2004, 175, directed the department to opt out of the federal reformulated gasoline program in order to reduce MtBE contamination of the state’s water resources. Further, in order to comply with the Clean Air Act and New Hampshire’s state implementation plan thereunder, the state must ensure equivalent reductions of emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) sufficient to replace those provided by the reformulated gas program. Section 209 of the Clean Air Act preempts states other than California from adopting motor vehicle emissions standards more stringent than applicable federal standards. However, section 177 of the Clean Air Act authorizes states to adopt the California standards as long as such adoption does not have the effect of creating a new or different vehicle requirement. The general court finds that a significant portion of New Hampshire’s overall air pollution is emitted from mobile sources and that these emissions contribute to New Hampshire’s failure to attain federal standards. In particular, over 1/2 of the emissions of ozone forming nitrogen oxides and man-made volatile organic compounds are emitted from mobile sources. Additionally, over 2/3 of the statewide emissions of carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas, are emitted from mobile sources. The states of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine have determined that the California emissions standards provide greater emissions reductions than federal standards and have adopted the California standards. Adoption of the more stringent California Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) emissions standards would reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds, oxides of nitrogen, and toxic compounds in New Hampshire, and supply sufficient reductions of oxides of nitrogen to meet the purposes of 2004, 175.
2 New Section; Adoption of California Air Resources Board Standards. Amend RSA 125-C by inserting after section 21 the following new section:
125-C:21-a Adoption of California Air Resources Board Standards.
I.(a) On or before December 31, 2005, the commissioner of the department of environmental services shall adopt rules, in accordance with the provisions of RSA 541-A and RSA 125-C, to implement the light duty motor vehicle emission standards of the state of California Air Resources Board pursuant to Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations and promulgated under the authority of Division 26 of the California Health and Safety Code. Such regulations shall be applicable to motor vehicles with a model year of 2009 and later. Nothing in this section shall limit the commissioner's authority to regulate motor vehicle emissions for any other class of vehicle.
II. Rules adopted pursuant to this section shall not include requirements for the sale of zero emissions vehicles (ZEV) or other related provisions of the referenced California standards.
III. As part of the state's implementation plan under the federal Clean Air Act, the commissioner of the department of environmental services may establish a program to allow the sale, purchase, and use of motor vehicles which comply with any rules adopted by the commissioner under paragraph I for purposes of generating any emission reduction credits under said act. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the commissioner of the department of environmental services from establishing a program to require the sale, purchase, and use of motor vehicles which comply with any rules adopted by the commissioner under paragraph I.
IV. The department shall perform a technical analysis to determine the emissions reductions that may be achieved by the adoption of rules under paragraph I to ensure that such reductions will meet the purposes of 2004, 175. The results of that technical analysis shall be provided to the air pollution advisory committee created under RSA 125–J:11 prior to adoption of rules under this section.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.