EPA Proposes to Streamline Vehicle-Conversion Efforts to CNG and Other Alt Fuels
By Scott Doggett May 10, 2010
By Danny King, Contributor
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to ease the process manufacturers need to go through to legally sell conversion systems that allow conventional vehicles to run on compressed natural gas, propane or other types of fuels, as the regulator looks to address foreign-oil dependency while protecting air quality by making it simpler and possibly cheaper to get cars to run on alternative fuels.
The proposed changes, which would move away a "one-size-fits-all" approach towards one in which specific requirements would be determined by engine or vehicle age, would cut the cost associated with getting conversion-system approvals for many manufacturers, the EPA said late last week.
The EPA is looking to clarify what component makers need to do qualify for a so-called "tampering exemption" designed to ensure that vehicle emissions aren't increased when an engine is converted to run on an alternative fuel.
"EPA believes it is reasonable to modify the current certification requirement for clean alternative-fuel converters seeking exemption from the tampering prohibition," the EPA said in a 173-page document published last week.
"The new program would expand compliance options to include less burdensome demonstration requirements that would nonetheless sustain EPA's oversight and longstanding commitment to the environmental integrity of clean alternative fuel conversions."
The EPA is making its proposal as some members of Congress plan to introduce climate and energy legislation that includes subsidies for both natural-gas-powered semi trucks and natural-gas filling stations.
Any legislation that encourages natural-gas-powered vehicle use is smart policy because the U.S. has access to about 200 years' worth of recoverable natural gas, oilman and nat-gas proponent Boone Pickens said at the 2010 Alternative Fuels & Vehicles Conference in Las Vegas Monday.
Such legislation changes by the EPA would dovetail with efforts by companies such as Southern California-based Impco Technologies to redirect its efforts to broaden the use of alternative fuels far beyond industrial and farm-equipment use back to the U.S. from Europe and Latin America, where alternative-fuel-vehicle use is more commonplace than in the U.S.
Impco, the natural-gas flex-fuel systems manufacturer that acquired assets of the defunct FuelMaker Corp. in 2009, last year began servicing existing home and commercial FuelMaker units through a network of suppliers, and announced plans to re-establish a U.S. automotive division to take advantage of what it sees as a growth market for technologies that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on petroleum.
The company started selling conversion systems in 1958 but redirected its efforts overseas when current regulations, which were put into place in 1994 to prevent engine or system tampering that sometimes worsened emissions, made engine conversions cost-prohibitive.
Impco Director of Automotive Operations Tim Standke estimated last year that it costs about $50,000 to perform the tests needed to obtain EPA certification for a kit for a specific model, and almost $500,000 per model to gain certification from the California Air Resources Board, which requires far more testing than the EPA.
The EPA acknowledged in last week's report that the regulations put smaller companies that often lead the way when it comes to alternative-fuel innovations at a disadvantage because of the financial resources needed for compliance.
"EPA has established policies through which conversion manufacturers can demonstrate that the conversion does not compromise emissions compliance," the EPA said in last week's report. "It has proven challenging, however, to design an appropriate demonstration that ensures long-term compliance while not imposing overly burdensome testing and administrative requirements, especially for the small businesses that largely comprise the conversion industry."
There are about 6,500 alternative-fuel stations -- compared to about 120,000 total -- in the U.S., including about 2,400 propane stations, 2,000 stations with E85 (gas with a 15 percent mix of ethanol) and 828 compressed-natural-gas stations, according to the U.S. Energy Department.
Honda's Civic GX, the only CNG-powered production car in the U.S., has won seven straight "greenest" car awards from the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy for having cleaner emissions and producing less greenhouse gas than any other mass-market vehicle sold in the U.S.
The EPA is accepting public comments on its proposal until July 23.
LEAVE A COMMENT
This should be a "NO BRAINER" for all involved given the proven reduction in emissions coupled with current directives on foreign
oil dependency reduction. The sad thing is that the EPA is the regulatory body that should be spearheading these efforts and
legislators should be working closely with them to effect these
changes and they are not.
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