B-166506 Review of the Adequacy of the Motor Vehicle Certification
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COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF WASHINGTON. D.C. 20548 B-166506 lull~~lll~l~lll~illill~lllnlllll~l\l111 jy LM096536 p/k ’ Dear Mr, Chairman: In response to your request of May 25, 1972 (enc, II), we are submitting a report (enc. I) on our review of (1) the adequacy of the _yIw.-.-motor vehicle. certificationrCU--Y"-d,ICI" ‘.+..a...-A+*.groc&u,re..s~-d...- of the Environment&l Protection I 1 Agency (EPA),_ she capacity of EPA to oversee the auto companies' 2f / preparat?&rof certification data, and (3) the procedures of the auto companies for developing the certification data. Following is a summary of the information we obtained relating to the points of interest specified in your letter, These matters are discussed in more detail in the enclosed report, On May 16, 1972, the Ford Motor Company withdrew the four appli- cations it had made to EPA for certification of its 1973 vehicles, Ford officials withdrew their applications because they had discovered that Ford test personnel had performed unauthorized maintenance on pro- totype vehicles being tested for certification. The unauthorized main- tenance had not been reported to EPA as performed, or included in the final applications, Ford officials have attributed the cause of the problem to a lack of proper management control over certification testing. Within Ford, the Engine and Foundry Division had the responsibility for building the certification vehicles, conducting the tests, and compiling the certi- fication data. On May 23, 1972, Ford reorganized and transferred responsLSi1ity for prototype certification testing from its Engine and Foundry Division to the Environmental and Safety Engineering Staff, Ford officials told us that Ford would take a number of additional steps to improve manage- ment control over certification vehicles, Our discussions with officials of the General Motors Corporation, the Chrysler Corporation, and the American Motors Corporation disclosed that these companies do not have formal written certification test pro- cedures. But officials from each of the companies stated that IL was unlikely that unauthorized maintenance would be performed on t'T.eir test fleet vehicles without the knowledge of upper management personnel. The officials told us that EPA personnel did not visit their plants to moni- tor their testing or to inspect their records, EPA officials told us that they have no basis for suspecting that unauthorized maintenance has been performed on the test ve:li.ctes of the above-mentioned three companies. However, in view of the limited EPA staff assigned to certification activities ;<nd the lack of E2A in- plant monitoring of compliance with certification regulations, it is our opinion that EPA does not have reasonable assurance that the ccm- panies have complied with Federal regulations related to maintenance. Our review showed that the number of 1, assigned Lo certification activities had been insufficient to adesuateiy perform all activities necessary to ensure that auto companies complied with Federal certification regulations. Between June 1, 1971, and June 1, 1972, personnel assigned to the Mobile Source Pollution Control Program (of which certification is a funct3XZT‘-increased from 112 to “i&6. nur- ing the same period personnel assigned to certification activities in- creased from nine to 19, Of the 19, only 10 were directly responsible for the certification of light-duty vehicles--primarily autos. No per- sonnel had been assigned to specifically monitor activities at the test facilities of the auto companies. The certification staff spends a significant portion of its time explaining and interpreting Federal regulations for the auto companies, The staff normally spends the rest of its time reviewing and approving manufacturers' applications for certification; assisting auto company personnel in resolving day-to-day problems; monitoring vehicle tests at EPA's Ann Arbor, Michigan, laboratory; and reviewing test data submitted by the auto companies, The staff has not been availabie for monitoring the in-plant testing activities of the auto companies, Not only is the certification staff small but the recently hired staff members are relatively inexperienced, In addition, EPA has diffi- culty in hiring--..-W.--.,,. and retaining qualified staff members, primarily because of low entrance salar&+-for recent college graduates and noncompetitive salaries for engineers with automotive emissions experience, The effectiveness of EPA's certification program relies heavily on the integrity of the manufacturers to carry out the testing of prototypes in accordance with Federal regulations and to submit accurate and com- plete data on the tests and maintenance performed on each certification test vehicle. EPA generally has accepted at face value the information submitted by the auto companies. When prototype vehicles are delivered to EPA for testing, the EPA staff makes visual observations of the vehi- cles; however, EPA officials told us that there is no practical way to inspect the vehicles to determine whether unauthorized maintenance had been performed. The failure of EPA to monitor the testing activities of the manufacturers can be attributed primarily to the shortage of quali- fied personnel. -2- B-166506 Because Ford is in the process of rerunning tests on its certification prototypes, EPA has instituted a number of procedural changes to coordinate, control, and accelerate the certification of Ford vehicles. EPA is documenting all communications with Ford, is inspecting test vehicles before testing begins, has notified Ford that it will make spot-check inspections of Ford's records and test facil- ities at any time that work is being performed on the prototypes, and has made arrangements to be responsive around the clock to special problems that Ford may encounter in testing its prototypes, The cost of these changes to the Government will be substantial, For example, the EPA staff has estimated that about 1,300 hours of overtime wil: be needed for certification activities related to Ford vehicles. EPA officials told us that EPA is presently considering several alternative procedures for ensuring the integrity of certification test- ing by the auto companies. They said that EPA might (1) make unannounced spot inspections of the auto companies' records and test facilities, (2) station inspectors at the auto companies' test facilities to provide continuous monitoring, or (3) assume responsibility for some or all test- ing and mileage accumulation of the companies' prototypes. The auto companies are primarily responsible for conducting tests and accumulating mileage on certification prototypes. EPA is respon- sible for ensuring that the vehicles it certifies do in fact meet-Fed- e.raJ,emission_I ..,_ .. .sjzancllrds. To carry out this responsibility, EPA needs " to assure itself to a greater extent than at present that the %ests are conducted in accordance with Federal regulations. We believe, therefore, that, as a minimum, EPA needs to increase its certification staff to provide in-plant monitoring of the auto companies' test activities and records related to certification vehicles. Our review was conducted at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., and at the EPA Motor Vehicle Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, We reviewed pertinent records, documents, and files and interviewed various officials of EPA, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler Corporation, General Motors Corporation, and American Motors Corporation. We also visited the testing facilities of some of the auto companies. The information contained in the enclosure to this letter has been discussed with officials of EPA, but formal written comments have not been obtained. We plan to make no further distribution of this report unless copies are specifically requested and then only after your agreement has -3- B-166506 been obtained or public announcement has been made by you concerning the contents of the report, Sincerely yours, Comptroller General of the United States Enclosures- 2 r t 4 lLThe Honorable Edmund S, Muskie, Chairman q Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution ?J\' 5 Committee on Public Works 0 _ United States Senate , -4- ENCLOSUREI GENERALACCOUNTING OFFICE EXAMINATION INTO al? AD- QF THE ENVIRONMENTALPROTECTION AGENCY'S ) CERTIFICATION PROCESS The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 1857) provides that new motor vehicles cannot be sold, offered for sale, or introduced into commerce by a manu- facturer unless the manufacturer receives from the Environmental Protec- tion Agency (EPA) a written certificate that the vehicles conform to air pollution.. ‘.. ,._xi.lldemiss.ion~.standards * ._. prescribed by regulation--a certificater- conformity. The certificate of conformity is issued to the automobile manufacturer on the basis of emissions tests of selected vehicles deemed by EPA to be representative of the manufacturer's various combinations of engines and components,, Specifically, section 206 of the Clean Air Act states that: "The Administrator shall test, or require to be tested in such manner as he deems appropriate, any new motor vehicle or new motor vehicle engine submitted by a manu- facturer to determine whether such vehicle or engine con- forms with the regulations prescribed under section 202 of this Act. If such vehicle or engine conforms to such regu- lations, the Administrator shall issue a certificate of conformity upon such terms, and for such period (not in excess of one year), as he may prescribe." The certification process begins with the submission by the auto- mobile manufacturer of a part I application for certification of proposed vehicles. The purposes of a part I application are to give notice to EPA of the manufacturer's intent to sell vehicles; to provide information suf- ficient to determine whether the test equipment, test fuel, and mileage accumulation procedure proposed to be used by the manufacturer conform to Federal regulations; and to provide the necessary description of the pro- posed product line, together with projected sales data, to allow EPA to select the vehicles it will require to be tested. EPA reviews the part I application to ensure its conformity with Federal regulations and to resolve any problems with the manufacturers.