83 FR 31753 - Notice of Intent To Hold a Workshop for a Study on the Impacts of Compliance With the ECA Fuel Sulfur Limits on U.S. Coastal Shipping

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 131 (July 9, 2018)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a stakeholder workshop to be held in Washington, DC, on July 30, 2018. This workshop will engage individuals and companies involved in U.S. coastal shipping as transportation providers or users, as well as states, local communities, and interested citizens, in the development of a study of the impacts on that sector of the North American Emission Control Area (ECA) fuel sulfur limits for ships. The Agency will provide background on the study, describe the proposed analytic methodology, and solicit stakeholder input regarding the selection of transportation routes to be studied and data inputs.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 131 (Monday, July 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31753-31754]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14681]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0396; FRL-9980-46-OAR]


Notice of Intent To Hold a Workshop for a Study on the Impacts of 
Compliance With the ECA Fuel Sulfur Limits on U.S. Coastal Shipping

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of workshop.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 
stakeholder workshop to be held in Washington, DC, on July 30, 2018. 
This workshop will engage individuals and companies involved in U.S. 
coastal shipping as transportation providers or users, as well as 
states, local communities, and interested citizens, in the development 
of a study of the impacts on that sector of the North American Emission 
Control Area (ECA) fuel sulfur limits for ships. The Agency will 
provide background on the study, describe the proposed analytic 
methodology, and solicit stakeholder input regarding the selection of 
transportation routes to be studied and data inputs.

DATES: The workshop will be held on July 30, 2018 at the location noted 
below under ADDRESSES. The workshop will begin at 10:00 a.m. EST and 
end at 3:00 p.m. EST. Parties wishing to attend the workshop should 
notify the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
by July 23, 2018. Additional information regarding the workshop appears 
below under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the following location: Room 
1153, William Jefferson Clinton East, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20460. Additional information related to the workshop 
will be posted on the EPA website at: https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/designation-north-american-emission-control-area-marine. Interested parties should check the website for 
any updated information.

[[Page 31754]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia MacAllister, Office of 
Transportation and Air Quality, Assessment and Standards Division, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 
48105; telephone number: 734-214-4131; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?

A. Docket

    EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0396. Publicly available docket materials are available 
either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 
the EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is 
open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is 
(202) 566-1744.

B. Electronic Access

    You may access this Federal Register document electronically from 
the Government Printing Office under the ``Federal Register'' listings 
at FDSys (http://www.thefederalregister.org/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=FR).

II. Overview

    The North American Emission Control Area (ECA) was designated in 
2010 by amendment to Annex VI to the International Convention for the 
Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).\1\ Beginning January 1, 
2015, the sulfur content of fuel used by ships operating in the ECA may 
not exceed 1,000 ppm. By the year 2030, this program is expected to 
reduce annual emissions of NOX, SOX, and 
PM2.5 by 1.2 million, 1.3 million, and 143,000 tons, 
respectively. The magnitude of these reductions would continue well 
beyond 2030, and are estimated to annually prevent between 12,000 and 
30,000 PM-related premature deaths; between 210 and 920 ozone-related 
premature deaths; 1,400,000 work days lost; and 9,600,000 minor 
restricted-activity days. The estimated annual monetized health 
benefits of the North American Emission Control Area in 2030 would be 
between $110 and $270 billion, assuming a 3 percent discount rate (or 
between $99 and $240 billion assuming a 7 percent discount rate). The 
annual cost of the overall program in 2030 would be significantly less, 
at approximately $3.1 billion. This cost includes $2.5 billion in fuel 
costs, $0.6 billion in NOX control operating costs (e.g., 
urea consumption), and $0.05 billion in variable costs.\2\
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    \1\ See: https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/designation-north-american-emission-control-area-marine.
    \2\ For analysis of the 2030 benefits and costs of the North 
American ECA, see Final Rule, Control of Emissions From New Marine 
Compression-Ignition Engines at or Above 30 Liters per Cylinder; 
this rule is available at https://www.thefederalregister.org/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-04-30/pdf/2010-2534.pdf.
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    In Senate Report 114-281 (June 16, 2016),\3\ Members of the Senate 
Committee on Appropriations indicated that while they support efforts 
to reduce pollution from marine vessels, ``the Committee is concerned 
the mandate for fuel with a sulfur content of 0.1% in the North 
American Emission Control Area is having a disproportionately negative 
impact on vessels which have engines that generate less than 32,000 
horsepower [and] this impact may cause some shippers to shift from 
marine based transport to less efficient, higher emitting modes.'' As a 
result, ``to avoid negative environmental consequences and modal 
shifting, the Committee directs the Agency to consider exempting 
vessels with engines that generate less than 32,000 horsepower and 
operate more than 50 miles from the coastline.'' \4\ In response to the 
Committee's concerns, EPA intends to perform a study of the economic 
impacts of compliance with the North American ECA fuel sulfur limits on 
coastal shipping.\5\ The study will be based on the approach the Agency 
used for a similar study carried out in 2012 examining the impacts of 
the application of the ECA fuel sulfur limits on the Great Lakes 
shipping industry.\6\ That study used a combination of geospatial 
transportation route modeling and cost modeling to examine the impacts 
of the ECA fuel sulfur requirements for a specific set of 
transportation routes identified by stakeholders as being at risk for 
transportation mode shift.
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    \3\ Committee Report [To accompany S. 3068]; this report is 
available at https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/srpt281/CRPT-114srpt281.pdf. The Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Pub. L. 115-31), refers to 
Senate Report 114-281 as carrying the same emphasis in regard to the 
administration of programs.
    \4\ Ships that generate less than 32,000 horsepower represent 
about 85 percent of all ships that visit U.S. ports.
    \5\ Coastal shipping, also called coastwise or short sea 
shipping, generally means marine transportation along a coast 
without crossing an ocean. For the purpose of this study, coastal 
shipping means the transportation of goods or materials by ship from 
an originating port located in North America, Mexico, or Central 
America to a United States destination port located on the Pacific, 
Atlantic, or Gulf coasts, or vice versa, but excludes shipping 
between Great Lakes ports.
    \6\ See https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0121-0586 and https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/P100E7EW.PDF?Dockey=P100E7EW.PDF.
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    Input from coastal transportation industry stakeholders and other 
industries involved in alternative transportation modes will be 
essential to identify the transportation routes to be studied: Those 
routes that may be at risk of transportation mode shift as a result of 
increased operating costs due to the use of ECA fuel. Stakeholder input 
also will be important for essential data, including ship 
characteristics.
    To facilitate stakeholder participation, EPA will conduct a 
workshop on July 30, 2018, at the location noted above under ADDRESSES. 
At this meeting, the Agency will explain the purpose of this economic 
impact study, describe the methodology that was used for a similar 
study of the impacts of ECA compliance on the Great Lakes, and explain 
the methodology that will be applied to this study of the economic 
impacts of the ECA fuel sulfur requirements on the U.S. coastal marine 
transportation. EPA will also describe the data needs of the study, how 
interested stakeholders can help EPA obtain that data, and EPA's 
procedures to ensure the protection of confidential business 
information.
    EPA invites and encourages participation by all manner of coastal 
shipping stakeholders: Shipping companies, both those with ships that 
are capable of operating on heavy fuel oil and those with ships that 
are designed to operate solely on distillate diesel fuel; companies 
that provide alternative land-based transportation (rail and highway 
truck); companies that utilize coastal marine transportation; state and 
local governments; environmental and community groups; and others who 
are interested in or who have information that may be useful for this 
study.
    A draft agenda for the workshop can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/designation-north-american-emission-control-area-marine. EPA also plans to place 
relevant materials in that docket as they become available.

    Dated: June 27, 2018.
Christopher Grundler,
Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality.
[FR Doc. 2018-14681 Filed 7-6-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P