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Reply to Comments on the Proposed Regulations Amending the On-Road Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations
1. Introduction
The On-Road Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations (hereinafter referred to as the current Regulations), came into effect on January 1, 2004 under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA 1999). The current Regulations contain emission standards for various classes of on-road vehicles and engines, including requirements for motorcycles of the 2004 and later model years. These Regulations are designed to align Canadian requirements with corresponding U.S. federal emission standards.
On January 15, 2004, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a new final rule[1] to introduce more stringent emission standards for on-road motorcycles beginning in the 2006 model year. The EPA rule introduces some new important elements in both the application and structure of future U.S. motorcycle emission standards that needed to be addressed in order to maintain Canada/U.S. alignment with respect to motorcycle emission standards.
In September 2004, Environment Canada issued a discussion document describing the technical content of the planned amendments to the current Regulations to address new elements of the U.S. rule for on-road motorcycles and inviting interested parties to provide comments on the proposed approach of aligning Canadian regulations for on-road motorcycles with the new U.S. standards. The comments of interested parties were taken into account in the development of the proposed "Regulations Amending the On-Road Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations" (hereinafter referred to as the proposed Regulations).
The proposed Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I on November 5, 2005, for a formal 60-day public consultation. The primary purpose of the proposed amendments was to introduce new requirements for 2006 and later model year on-road motorcycles to maintain alignment with more stringent standards adopted by the EPA, but miscellaneous editorial changes that do not affect the application of the current Regulations were also proposed. Environment Canada has considered all the comments received during this consultation in developing the revised draft proposed Regulations.
The major issues raised by commenters in regards to the proposed Regulations are addressed in the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS) that will accompany the publication of the final Regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part II. This document provides a more detailed summary of the comments received from stakeholders and provides Environment Canada's response to those comments.
Please note that the information contained in this document, and in particular that which relates to the contents of the revised draft proposed Regulations, is subject to change pending final approval. Once final approval is received, the final Regulations will be published in of the Canada Gazette, Part II.
[1] Final Rule: Control of Emissions from Highway Motorcycles, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Register, January 15, 2004.
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