Regulatory and Policy Development Perspective Linc Wehrly, US EPA September 24, 2003 Seattle, Washington InLCA/LCM 2003

Steps in Decision-Making Process Congress empowers EPA to set regulations through the Clean Air Act (CAA) CAA is made up of numerous sections and statutes that pertain to different emission sources (e.g., stationary, mobile sources, highway, nonroad) Highway vehicles and engines fall under section 202 – Section 202(a)(3) requires “..the greatest degree of emission reduction available… giving appropriate consideration to cost, energy, and safety.”

Tools Used in Decision Making Technology Assessment Cost Analysis – Fixed costs (e.g., R&D, tooling, & certification) – Variable costs (e.g., hardware & fuel changes) MOBILE Model – Tailpipe emission factors – Emission inventories (EF, population, VMT, etc.) baseline control Cost Effectiveness (e.g., cost per ton) Air Quality Analysis Benefits Analysis

Information Needs Emission control technology and strategies Emission test results Emission technology costs (i.e., hardware) Model inputs – Population estimated sales registrations – VMT surveys studies

Insights Gained As new, cleaner advanced technologies become more prevalent, it becomes more important to understand the emission implications of large scale switches in technology and fuels – For example, energy and emission implications of switch to hydrogen and/or biofuel may be large – Hydrogen and Biofuel production pathways are very different from conventional petroleum – Hybrid and Fuel Cell Vehicles Not considering the big picture may lead to wrong policy and regulatory decisions Life-cycle analysis could be very beneficial