5718749 Energy and Environment, Department of - Notice of Final Rulemaking - Nonroad Diesel Equipment Anti-Idling

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

 

NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING

 

Nonroad Diesel Equipment Anti-Idling

 

The Director of the Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE or Department), pursuant to the authority set forth in Sections 5 and 6 of the District of Columbia Air Pollution Control Act of 1984, effective March 15, 1985, as amended (D.C. Law 5-165; D.C. Official Code §§ 8-101.05 and 8-101.06 (2012 Repl.); Sections 107(4) and 110 of the District Department of the Environment Establishment Act of 2005, effective February 15, 2006 (D.C. Law 16-51; D.C. Official Code §§ 8-151.07(4) and 8-151.10 (2013 Repl.); and Mayor’s Order 2006-61, dated June 14, 2006, hereby gives notice of the adoption of the following amendments to Chapter 9 (Air Quality – Motor Vehicular Pollutants, Lead, Odors, and Nuisance Pollutants) of Title 20 (Environment) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).  

 

This rulemaking action reduces diesel engine emissions that result from unnecessary idling and conserve fuel used by nonroad diesel engines.  A nonroad diesel engine subject to this regulation is operated for purposes including, but not limited to, the following: construction, landscaping, recycling, landfilling, manufacturing, warehousing, composting, moving ground support equipment at airports or heliports, industrial activities, and other operations. The rulemaking adds detail to the District’s existing mobile source idling policy.

 

A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in the D.C. Register on July 17, 2015 (62 DCR 009811). In response to comments from industry, the Department revised the definition of “idling” to clarify the nature of work that may occur when running an engine, by deleting vague descriptors and adding specific examples. Also, the Department revised § 900.3 in order to codify its original intent that the rulemaking does not apply to portable generators.

 

Chapter 9, AIR QUALITY – MOTOR VEHICULAR POLLUTANTS, LEAD, ODORS, AND NUISANCE POLLUTANTS, of Title 20 DCMR, ENVIRONMENT, is amended as follows:

 

Section 900, ENGINE IDLING, is amended as follows:

 

By amending the title of the section to read:

 

900                  ONROAD ENGINE IDLING AND NONROAD DIESEL ENGINE IDLING

 

By adding Subsections 900.2 through 900.4 to read:

 

900.2               No person owning, operating, leasing, or having control over a nonroad diesel engine, or the holder of the permit for the activity for which the nonroad diesel engine is being operated, shall cause or allow the idling of a nonroad diesel engine under its control or on its property for more than three (3) consecutive minutes.

 

900.3               Subsection 900.2 does not apply to locomotives, generator sets, marine vessels, recreational vehicles, farming equipment, military equipment when it is being used during training exercises, emergency or public safety situations, or any private use of a nonroad diesel engine that is not for compensation.

 

900.4               The idling limit in Subsection 900.2 does not apply to:

 

(a)        Idling necessary to ensure the safe operation of the equipment and safety of the operator, such as conditions specified by the equipment manufacturer in the manual or an appropriate technical document accompanying the nonroad diesel engine;

 

(b)        Idling for testing, servicing, repairing, diagnostic purposes, or to verify that the equipment is in good working order, including regeneration of a diesel particulate filter, in accordance with the equipment manufacturer manual or other technical document accompanying the nonroad diesel engine;

 

(c)        Idling for less than fifteen (15) minutes when queuing (i.e., when nonroad diesel equipment, situated in a queue of other vehicles, must intermittently move forward to perform work or a service), not including the time an operator may wait motionless in line in anticipation of the start of a workday or opening of a location where work or a service will be performed.

 

(d)       Idling by any nonroad diesel engine being used in an emergency or public safety capacity;

 

(e)        Idling for a state or federal inspection to verify that all equipment is in good working order, if idling is required as part of the inspection; and

 

(f)        Idling for up to five (5) consecutive minutes to operate heating equipment when the ambient air temperature is thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit (32ºF) or below.

           

Section 999 DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS, is amended as follows:

 

By amending the text in Subsection 999.1 to read:

 

999.1               When used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed:

 

 

 

 

 

By amending the definition of “motor vehicle” to read:

 

Motor vehicle – any motor vehicle, as defined in § 1(a) of title IV of the District of Columbia Revenue Act of 1937, approved August 17, 1937 (50 Stat. 679; D.C. Official Code § 50-1501.01).

 

By adding the following definitions:

 

Diesel fuel – any petroleum- or biomass-based liquid fuel intended for use in the diesel engine of a highway or motor vehicle, nonroad vehicle, or piece of nonroad equipment.

 

Farming equipment – any appliance used directly and principally for the purpose of producing agricultural products, including horticultural products, for sale and use or consumption off the premises. This definition includes any equipment or machinery used primarily in preparation of land, planting, raising, cultivating, irrigating, harvesting, or placing in storage of farm crops. This definition also includes any equipment or machinery used primarily for the purpose of feeding, breeding, management and sale of, or the produce of, livestock, poultry, fur-bearing animals or bees, or for dairying and the sale of dairy products. This definition also includes any equipment or machinery used primarily in any other agricultural or horticultural use or animal husbandry or any combination thereof.

 

Generator set – an internal combustion engine coupled to a generator that is used as a source of electricity.

 

Idling – running the engine of nonroad equipment or a motor vehicle while the nonroad equipment or motor vehicle is not moving and the engine is not in use in whole or in part to perform mechanical work or an electrical operation for which it was designed (such as to power a hydraulic lift, crane, cement mixer or pump, cherry picker, air compressor, generator, or similar piece of equipment).

 

Locomotive – a self-propelled diesel-powered vehicle, for pulling or pushing freight or passenger cars on railroad tracks.

 

Marine vessel – any diesel-powered vehicle that is used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water except amphibious vehicles.

 

Military equipment – equipment that meets military specifications, is owned by the U.S. Department of Defense or the U.S. military services or its allies, and is used in combat, combat support, combat service support, tactical or relief operations or training for such operations.

 

Nonroad diesel engine – any internal combustion engine that utilizes diesel fuel as its fuel source:

 

(a)                In or on a piece of equipment that is self-propelled or serves a dual purpose by both propelling itself and performing another function (e.g., garden tractors, off-highway mobile cranes, and bulldozers);

 

(b)               In or on a piece of equipment that is intended to be propelled while performing its function (e.g., lawnmowers and string trimmers); or

 

(c)                That, by itself or on a piece of equipment, is portable or transportable, meaning designed to be and capable of being carried or moved from one location to another. Indications of transportability include, but are not limited to, wheels, skids, carrying handles, dolly, trailer, or platform; and

 

(d)               Unless:

 

(i)         The engine is used to propel a motor vehicle or a vehicle solely for competition, or is subject to standards promulgated under Section 202 of the Clean Air Act;

 

(ii)        The engine is regulated by a federal New Source Performance Standard promulgated under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act; or

 

(iii)       The engine otherwise included in paragraph (c) of this definition remains or will remain at a location for more than twelve (12) consecutive months or a shorter period of time for an engine located at a seasonal source. A location is any single site at a building, structure, facility, or installation. Any engine(s) that replaces an engine(s) at a location and that is intended to perform the same or similar function as the engine replaced will be included in calculating the consecutive time period. An engine located at a seasonal source is an engine that remains at a seasonal source during the full annual operating period of the seasonal source. A seasonal source is a stationary source that remains in a single location on a permanent basis (i.e., at least two (2) years) and that operates at that single location approximately three months (or more) each year. This paragraph does not apply to an engine after the engine is removed from the location.

 

Nonroad equipment – a piece of equipment that is powered by a nonroad diesel engine.

 

Power take-off equipment – a semi-permanently mounted system on a vehicle, separate from the vehicle engine that is used to transmit power to a secondary implement or accessory.

Recreational vehicle – any mechanically propelled vehicle used for pleasure or recreational purposes running on rubber tires, belts, cleats, tracks, skis or cushion of air and dependent on the ground or surface for travel, or other unimproved terrain whether covered by ice or snow or not, where the operator sits in or on the vehicle. This definition includes snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), nonroad motorcycles, or any other legally registered motor vehicle when used for nonroad recreational purposes.