federal register - U.S. Government Printing Office

Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 28 / Tuesday, February 11, 1997 / Proposed Rules6391owner/operator for smoke emissions.Such a requirement would applythroughout a locomotive’s useful life, aswell as beyond it, in contrast to thepreviously discussed railroad testingprograms, which only require testingafter a locomotive has reached the endof its useful life. Under such a program,the railroads would be required tomaintain the test result records andmake them available to EPA uponrequest. Finally, EPA requests commenton combinations of the previouslydiscussed options, as well as otheralternative in-use testing schemes.The Agency specifically requestscomments on the merits of replacing theproposed two-component (i.e.,manufacturer and railroad) in-usetesting program with a unified programthat is conducted entirely by therailroads. Such a program couldpotentially be significantly moreconvenient for all parties involved,especially for certificate holders that donot have their own emission testingfacilities. On the other hand, such aprogram could be unreasonablyburdensome to the railroads.Furthermore, manufacturers havehistorically been very skeptical of thequality of emission testing performed bythird parties, and thus might challengeany EPA finding of nonconformitybased on such data. Finally, if theAgency does not finalize a unified inusetesting program, should it createprovisions that would specifically allowit to be adopted voluntarily by therailroads?D. Test ProceduresDue to the fundamental similaritybetween the emissions components oflocomotive engines and on-highwayheavy-duty diesel engines, the testprocedures being proposed today arebased on the test procedures previouslyestablished for on-highway heavy-dutydiesel engines in 40 CFR part 86subparts D and N. Specifically, the rawsampling procedures and many of theinstrument calibration procedures arebased on subpart D, and the diluteparticulate sampling procedures andgeneral test procedures are based onsubpart N. The most significant aspectsof the proposed test procedures aredescribed below. Also, as with EPA’stest procedures for other engines, theregulations would allow, with advanceEPA approval, alternate test proceduresdemonstrated to yield equivalent orsuperior results.D.1. Federal Test Procedure (FTP) forLocomotivesEPA proposes to use a steady-statetest procedure to measure gaseous andparticulate emissions from locomotives;that is, a procedure whereinmeasurements of gaseous andparticulate emissions are performedwith the engine at a series of steadystatespeed and load conditions.Measurement of smoke would beperformed during both steady-stateoperations and during periods of engineaccelerations between notches.Specifically, the engine would bestarted, if not already running, andwarmed up to normal operatingtemperature in accordance with warmupprocedures for in-servicelocomotives as specified by themanufacturer. For locomotive testing,the engine would remain in thelocomotive chassis, and the poweroutput would be dissipated as heat fromresistive load banks (internal orexternal). The engine would beconsidered to be warmed up, and readyfor emissions testing when coolant andlubricant temperatures areapproximately at the mid-points of thenormal in-service operatingtemperatures for these materials asspecified by the manufacturer. After theengine has reached normal operatingtemperature, the engine would beoperated at full power (i.e., highestpower notch) for 5 minutes, thenreturned to idle, or low idle if soequipped. The 5-minute period at fullpower is intended to ensure that theengine is at a realistic operatingtemperature, and to improve testrepeatability. Measurement of exhaustemissions, fuel consumption, inlet andcooling air temperature, power output,etc. would then begin, and wouldcontinue through each higher poweroperating mode to maximum power. Inthe event of test equipment failureduring data acquisition, testing may beresumed by repeating the last test modefor which valid data was collected,provided the engine is at normaloperating temperature. The minimumduration of the initial test point (idle orlow idle), and each test point whenpower is being increased is 6 minutes,with the exception of the maximumpower point, where the minimumduration of operation is 15 minutes.Concentrations of gaseous exhaustpollutants are proposed to be measuredby drawing samples of the raw exhaustto chemical analyzers; achemiluminescence analyzer for NO X, aheated flame ionization detector (HFID)for HC, and nondispersive infrared(NDIR) detector for CO and CO 2. Smokewould be measured with a smokeopacity meter, and particulates wouldbe measured by drawing a dilutedsample of the exhaust through a filterand weighing the mass of particulatecollected. The Agency is not proposingto establish dilute sampling proceduresfor the total exhaust stream for gaseousand particulate emissions because it isnot necessary to dilute the total exhauststream prior to sampling for HC, CO 2,CO, NO X, and particulate during steadystate operations. In addition, theequipment that would be required fordilute sampling is very large andexpensive. Not including suchprovisions would not preclude the useof dilute sampling as an alternativeprocedure. EPA requests commentsregarding the need for dilute samplingprocedures. In order to ensure goodreliability of test results, EPA is alsoproposing calibration and verificationrequirements similar to those applicableto on-highway heavy-duty engines, andrequests comments regarding theproposed methods and frequency ofthese requirements. It should also benoted that the Agency is in the processof making minor technical revisions tothe particulate measurement proceduresof 40 CFR 86, and that many of thesetechnical amendments would berelevant to measurement of particulateemissions from locomotives. Theseamendments are expected to befinalized later this year. The Agencywill incorporate these changes in thefinal rule for locomotives, asappropriate.The Agency is proposing that theNMHC, alcohol and aldehydemeasurement procedures that arecurrently applicable to on-highwaynatural gas- and methanol-fueledengines (40 CFR part 86) be used fornatural gas- and alcohol-fueledlocomotives. EPA recognizes, however,the possibility of unforeseen problemsthat could result during the use of suchprocedures with locomotive engines,especially with alcohol-fueledlocomotives (which currently do notexist). Among the potential problemsare the lack of information on whetherthe specifications for dilute alcohol andaldehyde sample temperatures and flowrates are appropriate for locomotives, aswell as the complete lack of suchspecifications for raw exhaust. At thistime, EPA believes that it is appropriateto specify the on-highway procedures inthe absence of definitiveness ofpotential problems, but may reconsideralcohol and aldehyde sampling issueson a case-by-case basis, should alcoholfueledlocomotives come into use.EPA’s experience in testing engines isthat it is difficult to accurately measureengine power at extremely low levels.Thus, EPA is considering, and requestscomment on, assigning engine powerlevels for idle and dynamic brake