MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE The following document is provided by the LAW AND LEGISLATIVE DIGITAL LIBRARY at the Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library http://legislature.maine.gov/lawlib Reproduced from scanned originals with text recognition applied (searchable text may contain some errors and/or omissions) •• A Report to the Joint Standing Committee on Natural Resources February 2001 Prepared by: Maine Department of Environmental Protection Table of Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................... i Executive Summary ..................... : .................................................... ii Chapter 1 Purpose . 1 · Chapter 2Mobile Source Emissions ...................................................... 3 A. Air Emissions ....................................................................... 3 B. Transportation Trends ............................................................. 4 Chapter 3 Motor Vehicle Information ................................................ ; .. 5 A. Vehicle Registrations ................ : ............................................. 5 B. Vehicles Titled (Purchased) ...................................................... 6 C. Purchaser Information ............................................................ 10 Chapter 4 Existing Strategies ............................................................ 12 A. Cleaner Fuels ............ : .......................................................... 12 1. Maine's Current Fuels Program ............................................... 12 2. Federal Low Sulfur Gasoline Standards ...................................... 13 3. Federal Toxics Emission Standards for Gasoline ............................ 14 4. Federal Diesel Low Sulfur Fuel ................................................ 14 B. Maintaining the Vehicles on our Roads ....................................... 15 1. Inspection and Maintenance Programs ......................................... 15 2. Heavy-Duty Diesel Testing ...................................................... 16 C. Cleaner New Cars and Trucks .................................................. 18 1. Maine's Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) Program ............................ 18 2. Federal New Car Emission Standards ......................................... 20 3. Federal Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Standards ......................... 22 D. Transportation Control Measures (TCM) ..................................... 23 1. TCMs .............................................................................. 23 2. Conformity ........................................................................ 25 Chapter 5 Alternative Strategies ................. :, ...................................... 26 A. Fuels .................................................................................. 26 1. NESCA UM/ Mid Atlantic Regional Fuels Task Force .................... 26 2. Alternative Clean Fuels ......................................................... 27 B. Inspection and Maintenance Programs .......................................... 30 1. Alternative Methods of Testing Vehicles .................................... 30 C. Transportation Control Measures ............................................... 32 1. Accelerated Vehicle Retirement. ............................................... 32 D. Education and Incentives .......................................................... 36 1. Incentives ........................................................................... 36 1 2. Mobile Sources Outreach Programs ........................................... 36 E. Government Procurement ................................... ·...................... 39 Chapter 6 Process .......................................................................... 40 Figures and Tables Figure 1. 1996 VOC and NOx Emissions ............................................... 3 Table 1. Mobile Source Air Toxics ..................................................... 4 Figure 2. Percent Increase from 1985 to 1995 ......................................... 4 Figure 3. Vehicle Registrations by Model Year ........................................ 5 Figure 4. Vehicle Registrations by Age ................................................. 5 Table 2. Top 20 Vehicles Registered in Maine ....................................... 6 Table 3. Top 20 Model Year 2000 (NEW) Titled Vehicles ......................... 7 Table 4. Top 20 Used Titled Vehicles .................................................. 8 Figure 5. Age Distribution of Used Vehicles Purchased in Year 2000 . 8 Table 5. Used Car Prices ................................................................. 9 Figure 6. Vehicle Purchaser by Gender ................................................ 10 Figure 7. Year 2000 Vehicle Purchasers by Age ..................................... 10 .Table 6. Year 2000 Vehicle Purchasers by Weighted Age ..................... : ... 11 Table 7 Transportation Control Measures ......................................... : ... 23 Appendices Appendix A. Vehicles Registered in Maine (January 2001) Appendix B. Model Year 2000 Vehicles Titled in Maine in Year 2000 Appendix C. Used Vehicles Titled in Maine in Year 2000 Appendix D. Used Vehicle Purchaser Information Appendix E. EPA Environmental Fact Sheets Appendix F. State Laws and Regulations: Incentives for Electric Vehicles and Alternative Fueled Vehicles Attached State Innovations to Reduce Vehicle Emissions, National Governors' Association, (2000) 2 Acknowledgements The Department gratefully acknowledges the assistance of David Schultz and Richard Zidowecki from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles for their contributions of motor vehicle registration and title data. The Department also extends its appreciation to Sheilla Lynch from the Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium for the State Law and Regulation summary of alternative vehicle incentives. 1 Executive Summary This report summarizes existing and alternative mobile source emissions reduction strategies. These mobile source strategies include strategies either implemented or being considered by the State of Maine, the United States Environmental Protection Agency or other states. Motor vehicles are significant emitters of a number of pollutants including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, carbon dioxide, and hazardous air pollutants such as benzene. While motor vehicle emission control devices have dramatically reduced pollutant emissions per vehicle during the past 20 years, the number of cars and trucks on the road, and the number of miles they are driven, have doubled. This growth in vehicle travel is offsetting the progress achieved through improved vehicle emission controls. Motor vehicle registration data indicates that the average age of a vehicle on Maine roads is 8. 7 years. The 1993 Ford Escort is the most registered vehicle. In year 2000 the GMC Sierra pick-up truck is the commonly purchased new vehicle; the Ford F150 pick-up truck is the most commonly purchased used vehicle. Reducing emissions from these so-called mobile sources diminishes the risk of health problems associated with poor air quality. Generally, mobile source control strategies fall into four categories: using cleaner fuels for the vehicles, driving cleaner new vehicles, properly maintaining existing vehicles and reducing either the number of vehicles on the road or the number of miles they are driven. Strategies chosen may be mandatory or voluntary, contain elements of public education, and/or include incentives to make the strategy more attractive. Maine's experience runs the gamut of these options. Fuels. Gasoline is the predominant fuel for motor vehicles used in Maine. Nearly 700 million gallons of gasoline and 150 million gallons of diesel were sold in Maine in 1999. In order to reduce air pollutants that form ground-level ozone and hazardous air pollutants, in 1994 Maine voluntarily participated in the federal Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) program. Concerns about groundwater contamination due to elevated levels of the additive used in the RFG sold in Maine (MTBE) prompted the State to withdraw from this program in 1998. In 11 its place Maine now requires a low volatility (evaporates less readily) gasoline in the seven southern counties to reduce emissions. (The remaining counties are subject to minimal federal standards for volatility.) The Department is currently working with other northeast states to identify a regional fuel which will provide the same air quality benefits of reformulated gasoline without the increased risk of groundwater contamination. The Department has also supported the development of vehicles that run on fuels other than gasoline or diesel. Alternative fuels include, but are not limited to, natural gas, electricity, alcohol fuels (such as ethanol and methanol), propane, and bio-diesel. Vehicles burning these fuels can use original equipment or be conversions. Increased use of alternative fuels provides for better energy security by reducing use of imported oil and for improved air quality. The largest hurdles to overcome in terms of encouraging the use of alternative fuels are the lack of existing infrastructure to deliver the fuel and the increased cost of the vehicles and/or fuel. In-Use Vehicle Maintenance. In 1994, to identify vehicles in need of a tune-up or work on vehicle pollution control equipment, Maine implemented the nation's first state-of-the-art, centralized, vehicle emissions testing program (IM240) in the seven southern