Rule2025-20143
Air Plan Approval; Rhode Island; Amendments to Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 18, 2025
Effective
December 18, 2025
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Rhode Island. This revision is an amended regulation for the Enhanced Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) program in Rhode Island. Overall, the submittal removes obsolete references, adds definitions, and clarifies the Rhode Island I/M program requirements, which consist primarily of conducting Onboard Diagnostics (OBD) testing. The intended effect of this action is to approve of the State's amended I/M program regulation into the Rhode Island SIP. This action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 220 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51510-51512]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-20143]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R01-OAR-2025-0249; FRL-12888-02-R1]
Air Plan Approval; Rhode Island; Amendments to Motor Vehicle
Inspection and Maintenance Program
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Rhode
Island. This revision is an amended regulation for the Enhanced Motor
Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) program in Rhode Island.
Overall, the submittal removes obsolete references, adds definitions,
and clarifies the Rhode Island I/M program requirements, which consist
primarily of conducting Onboard Diagnostics (OBD) testing. The intended
effect of this action is to approve of the State's amended I/M program
regulation into the Rhode Island SIP. This action is being taken in
accordance with the Clean Air Act.
DATES: This rule is effective on December 18, 2025.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket
Identification No. EPA-R01-OAR-2025-0249. All documents in the docket
are listed on the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website. Although listed
in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain
other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the
internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form.
Publicly available docket materials are available at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA
Region 1 Regional Office, Air and Radiation Division, 5 Post Office
Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA requests that if at all possible,
you contact the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section to schedule your inspection.
[[Page 51511]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ayla Martinelli, Air Quality Branch,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Region 1, 5 Post Office
Square--Suite 100, (Mail code 5-MI), Boston, MA 02109-3912, tel. (617)
918-1057, email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c8a5a9babca1a6ada4a4a1e6a9b1a4a988adb8a9e6afa7be"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cea3afbcbaa7a0aba2a2a7e0afb7a2af8eabbeafe0a9a1b8">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.
Table of Contents
I. Background and Purpose
II. Response to Comments
III. Final Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background and Purpose
On July 28, 2025 (90 FR 35491), EPA published a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) for the State of Rhode Island. The NPRM proposed
approval of amendments to Rhode Island's I/M Program. The formal SIP
revision was submitted by Rhode Island on December 20, 2023. The
rationale for EPA's proposed action is explained in the NPRM and will
not be restated here. Two public comments were received on the NPRM.
II. Response to Comments
EPA received two comments during the comment period, which are
available in the docket of this rulemaking. One comment supports EPA's
proposed action. The other comment recognizes that Rhode Island's SIP
revision focuses on ``improving test procedures and administrative
alignment,'' but urges EPA to consider encouraging states to
incorporate carbon dioxide (CO<INF>2</INF>) monitoring into their I/M
programs, making Rhode Island's aggregated I/M data publicly available
for the purpose of supporting state and regional planning for
greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, aligning I/M programs with GHG
reduction targets, and ``integrating CO<INF>2</INF> into I/M program
design and evaluation.''
First, to the extent the comment urges broad changes to motor
vehicle I/M program requirements, it is outside the scope of EPA's
proposed action here, which evaluated revisions to Rhode Island's
program only. Second, the comment does not provide any statutory or
regulatory support for its positions, and it does not assert that the
CAA requires EPA to disapprove an I/M program SIP revision that does
not include the suggested program components or considerations.
EPA reviews a state's submittal for compliance with CAA
requirements, and EPA is required to approve a SIP revision that
complies with those requirements. CAA Sec. 110(k)(3); 40 CFR 52.02(a).
This EPA action concerns Rhode Island's I/M program SIP revision
submitted in accordance with CAA Sec. 182 and EPA's I/M regulations at
40 CFR part 51, subpart S. Under the CAA, Rhode Island is required to
implement an enhanced I/M program that addresses hydrocarbon (or VOC)
emissions and NO<INF>X</INF> emissions. CAA Sec. 182(c)(3). There is
no legal requirement for Rhode Island to address CO<INF>2</INF>
emissions in its I/M SIP revision. As EPA explained in the NPRM, the
revisions to Rhode Island's I/M regulation are consistent with the
CAA's I/M requirements and EPA's I/M regulations, are administrative in
nature, and will not interfere with attainment or maintenance of any
NAAQS or with any other applicable requirement of the CAA. The comment
does not disagree with these assertions. Accordingly, EPA is finalizing
the action as proposed.
III. Final Action
EPA is approving Rhode Island's December 20, 2023, SIP submittal
containing the revised motor vehicle I/M program as a revision to the
Rhode Island SIP.
IV. Incorporation by Reference
In this rule, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR
51.5, the EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of Rhode
Island's Air Pollution Control Regulation (APCR) No. 34--Rhode Island
Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program described in the
amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth below. The EPA has made, and
will continue to make, these documents generally available through
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and at the EPA Region 1 Office (please
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this preamble for more information). Therefore, these
materials have been approved by EPA for inclusion in the State
implementation plan, have been incorporated by reference by EPA into
that plan, are fully federally enforceable under sections 110 and 113
of the CAA as of the effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's
approval, and will be incorporated by reference in the next update to
the SIP compilation.\1\
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\1\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Clean Air Act
and applicable Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a).
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act.
Accordingly, this action merely approves state law as meeting Federal
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those
imposed by state law. For that reason, this action:
<bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
<bullet> Is not subject to Executive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065,
February 6, 2025) because SIP actions are exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866;
<bullet> Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
<bullet> Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
<bullet> Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
<bullet> Does not have federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
<bullet> Is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885,
April 23, 1997) because it approves a state program;
<bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001); and
<bullet> Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the Clean Air Act.
In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small
[[Page 51512]]
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by January 20, 2026. Filing a
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule
does not affect the finality of this action for the purposes of
judicial review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for
judicial review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness
of such rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in
proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide,
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Dated: October 8, 2025.
Mark Sanborn,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Environmental
Protection Agency amends part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of
Federal Regulations to read as follows:
PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart OO--Rhode Island
0
2. In Sec. 52.2070(c), amend the table by revising the entry ``Air
Pollution Control Regulation 34'' to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2070 Identification of plan.
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(c) * * *
EPA-Approved Rhode Island Regulations
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State
State citation Title/subject effective date EPA approval date Explanations
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Air Pollution Control Regulation Rhode Island Motor 12/25/2018 11/18/2025 90 FR 11/ Department of
34. Vehicle Inspection/ 18/25. Environmental
Maintenance Management
Program. regulation
containing I/M
standards.
Approving all
sections.
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[FR Doc. 2025-20143 Filed 11-17-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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