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Public Workshop on Corporate Average Fuel Economy Reporting Templates

Publication: Federal Register
Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Byline: Anne Collins
Date: 7 June 2022
Subjects: American Government , The Environment 
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34752-34753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12214]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-XXXX-XXXX]


Public Workshop on Corporate Average Fuel Economy Reporting 
Templates

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notification of rescheduled public workshop.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that NHTSA will hold a workshop to 
present and demonstrate three compliance reporting templates for the 
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Program. Two of the templates 
will be required for reporting; the third template will be optional but 
is recommended for ease of reporting. The workshop will provide a 
demonstration of the use of the templates, which automobile 
manufacturers will use to provide NHTSA required compliance data.

DATES: NHTSA will hold the public workshop on July 12, 2022 from 9 a.m. 
to 4:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. The workshop will be held 
virtually. Log-in on the day of the workshop will begin at 9 a.m. 
Attendance requires electronic registration and confirmation in advance 
and is free.

ADDRESSES: Vehicle manufacturers and other interested parties who wish 
to attend the workshops are asked to pre-register by June 30, 2022. 
Attendees should register online at https://www.nhtsa.gov/events/workshop-cafe-reporting-template, by June 30, 2022. Registration is 
necessary for all attendees; please register even if you were 
previously registered for the workshop that was scheduled in January 
2022. Please provide your name, email address, and affiliation. 
Registrations may be accepted after that date, space permitting. 
Attendees are encouraged to submit questions related to reporting and 
credit related technical issues to be considered for discussion during 
the workshop. These questions should be submitted via email to 
cafe@dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about 
registering or connecting to the public workshop, please contact NHTSA 
staff at NHTSA.Communication@dot.gov or Chris LaMance at 
frederick.lamance@dot.gov or (202) 366-7568. For questions concerning 
the workshop discussions contact Maurice Hicks at Maurice.Hicks@dot.gov 
or (202) 366-5289.
    We are committed to providing equal access to this event for all 
participants. Persons with disabilities in need of an accommodation 
should contact Maurice Hicks at (202) 366-5289 or, 
NHTSA.Communication@dot.gov to request an accommodation no later than 
July 5, 2022.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 49 CFR part 537, ``Automotive Fuel Economy 
Reports,'' requires manufacturers to provide early model year 
projections on automobiles demonstrating how they intend to comply with 
CAFE standards. The regulation requires manufacturers to submit a pre-
model year (PMY) report by December 31 before the model year and a mid-
model year (MMY) report by July 31 of the model year. When NHTSA 
received and reviewed manufacturers'

[[Page 34753]]

projection reports for Model Years (MY) 2013 through 2015, the agency 
observed that most did not conform to the requirements specified in 
part 537. In a 2015 notice of proposed rulemaking, NHTSA proposed to 
amend part 537 to require a new data format for manufacturers' CAFE 
projection reporting template.\1\ However, NHTSA did not adopt the 
proposed data format from the 2015 proposed rule after receiving 
adverse comments from manufacturers.\2\
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    \1\ 80 FR 40540 (Jul. 13, 2015).
    \2\ 81 FR 73958 (Oct. 25, 2016).
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    After identifying the sources of manufacturers' concerns, in the 
April 2020 CAFE final rule, NHTSA established a new standardized 
template for reporting PMY and MMY information, as specified in 49 CFR 
537.7(b) and (c), as well as for the supplementary information required 
by 49 CFR 537.8. The new template allows manufacturers to build out the 
required confidential versions of CAFE reports specified in 49 CFR part 
537, and to automatically produce the required non-confidential 
versions by clicking a button within the template. The standardized 
template assists manufacturers in providing the agency with all 
necessary data, thereby helping manufacturers to ensure they are 
complying with CAFE regulations. The template organizes the required 
data in a manner consistent with NHTSA and the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) regulations and simplifies the reporting process by 
incorporating standardized responses consistent with those provided to 
EPA. The template collects the relevant data, calculates intermediate 
and final values in accordance with EPA and NHTSA methodologies, and 
aggregates all the final values required by NHTSA regulations in a 
single summary worksheet.
    Thus, NHTSA believes that the standardized template will benefit 
both the agency and manufacturers by helping to avoid reporting errors, 
such as data omissions and miscalculations, and will ultimately 
simplify and streamline reporting. NHTSA requires that manufacturers 
use the standardized Projection Reporting Template for all PMY, MMY, 
and supplementary CAFE reports beginning in MY 2023. NHTSA also 
modified its existing compliance database to accept and import the 
standardized template and automatically aggregate manufacturers' data. 
This allows NHTSA to execute its regulatory obligations to the public 
more efficiently and effectively. Overall, the template helps to ensure 
compliance with data requirements under the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act/Energy Independence and Security Act and drastically 
reduce the industry and government's burden for reporting in accordance 
with the Paperwork Reduction Act.\3\ The reporting template is 
available for download through the Public Information Center (PIC) 
located at: https://one.nhtsa.gov/cafe_pic/home--see ``Light Duty 
Templates: NHTSA CAFE Projections Reporting Template''.
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    \3\ 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
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    To reduce the burden on all parties, encourage compliance, and 
facilitate quicker NHTSA credit transaction approval, in the April 2020 
final rule, NHTSA added a new template to standardize the information 
parties submit to the agency to request a credit transaction. Often 
manufacturers inconsistently submit the information required by 49 CFR 
536.8, making it difficult for NHTSA to process transactions. The 
credit transaction template is a simple spreadsheet that credit holders 
and trading parties fill out. When completed, parties are able to click 
a button on the spreadsheet to generate a credit transaction summary, 
and if applicable, credit trade confirmation, the latter of which needs 
to be signed by both trading entities. The credit trade confirmation 
serves as an acknowledgement that the parties have agreed to trade 
credits. The completed credit trade summary, and a PDF copy of the 
signed trade confirmation must be submitted to NHTSA. Using the Credit 
Transaction Template simplifies the credit trading process for the 
Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance and manufacturers and helps to 
ensure that trading parties follow the requirements for a credit 
transaction found in 49 CFR 536.8(a).\4\ Additionally, the credit trade 
confirmation includes an acknowledgement of the ``error or fraud'' 
provisions in 49 CFR 536.8(f)-(g), and the finality provision of 49 CFR 
536.8(g). The credit transaction template is available for download 
through the PIC located at: https://one.nhtsa.gov/cafe_pic/home--see 
``Light Duty Templates: NHTSA CAFE Credit Transaction Template''.
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    \4\ Submitting a properly completed template and accompanying 
transaction letter will satisfy the trading requirements in 49 CFR 
part 536.
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    Finally, NHTSA adopted requirements in the 2020 final rule 
requiring manufacturers to submit the costs of all credit trade 
contracts to the agency starting September 1, 2022. NHTSA intends to 
use this information to more accurately assess the cost of compliance 
for all manufacturers. This information would allow NHTSA to better 
assess the impact of its regulations on the industry and provide more 
insightful information in developing future rulemakings. To assist 
manufacturers in submitting the required information, NHTSA has 
developed an optional Credit Value Template. The template lays out what 
sort of credit cost information NHTSA expects to receive from 
manufacturers and reduces the need for any additional questions or 
clarification when reporting is received.
    Note, the credit value template is available for download through 
the PIC located at: https://one.nhtsa.gov/cafe_pic/home--see ``Light 
Duty Templates: NHTSA CAFE Credit Value Reporting Template''.
    In the May 2022 rulemaking, NHTSA also committed to demonstrate its 
templates through a workshop designed to give manufacturers an open 
forum for communicating directly with the agency. This notice satisfies 
that obligation and announces the details of the workshop.

Public Workshop Agenda 5
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    \5\ The agenda is subject to change.
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9-9:30 a.m.--Welcome and Introductory Remarks
9:30-10:30 a.m.--PMY/MMY Reporting Template (Part 1)
10:30-11:30 a.m.--PMY/MMY Reporting Template (Part 2-Examples)
11:30 a.m.-12 p.m.--Credit Transaction Template
12-12:30 p.m.--Public Information Center Overview
12:30-1:30 p.m.--Lunch Break
1:30-2:30 p.m.--Credit Value Reporting Template
2:30-3:30 p.m.--FAQ Session
3:30-4:30 p.m.--CAFE 101--CAFE Compliance Process Overview

Participation in Public Workshop

    If you do not receive your confirmation email(s), or have further 
questions about this event, please email NHTSA.Communication@dot.gov.
    Issued in Washington, DC, under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.95, 
501.8(g).

Anne Collins,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2022-12214 Filed 6-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P




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