Introductory NoteSection 14 of the National Environment Protection Council Act 1994 and the equivalent provision of the corresponding Act of each participating State and Territory provides for the making of Measures by the NEPC and the matters to which they may relate. This Measure relates to the matters set out in paragraph 14(1)(g).The Measure is to be implemented by the laws and other arrangements participating jurisdictions consider necessary: see Section 7 of the Commonwealth Act and the equivalent provision of the corresponding Act of each participating State and Territory.
Preliminary
1 Name of Measure
This Measure is the
National Environment Protection (Diesel Vehicle
Emissions) Measure
2001
.
2 Commencement
All provisions of this Measure commence on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
3 Definitions
This clause defines particular words and expressions used in this Measure. Definitions of other terms that are used in particular guidelines in Schedule A are set out in the relevant guidelines.
In this Measure, unless the contrary intention appears:
ADR
means an Australian Design Rule which is a National Standard determined under Section 7 of the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989.
Agency
means a body or bodies of a participating State or a participating Territory which that State or Territory has nominated for the purposes of this Measure.
Agreement
means the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment made on 1 May 1992 between the Commonwealth, the States, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and the Australian Local Government Association, a copy of which is set out in the Schedule to the Commonwealth Act.
Commonwealth Act
means the National Environment Protection Council Act 1994 of the Commonwealth.
Council
means the National Environment Protection Council established by section 8 of the Commonwealth Act and the equivalent provisions of the corresponding Acts of each participating States and Territories.
Diesel vehicle
means a passenger vehicle, omnibus or goods vehicle powered by a diesel fuelled engine and meeting the criteria for an ‘M’ or ‘N’ category vehicle under the ADRs.
Emissions test
means the emissions test procedure for diesel vehicles determined by the Australian Transport Council or successor body.
In-service emissions
means exhaust emissions, excluding emissions of noise, from diesel vehicles in use.
In-service Emissions Standards
means standards for emissions from in-service diesel vehicles as determined by the Australian Transport Council or successor body.
National environment protection guideline
means a guideline that gives guidance on possible means for achieving desired environmental outcomes.
National Environment Protection Measure (Measure)
means a Measure made under section 14(1) of the Commonwealth Act and the equivalent provisions of the corresponding Acts of participating States and Territories.
Participating jurisdiction
means the Commonwealth, a participating State or a participating Territory.
Participating State
means a State:
(a) that is a party to the Agreement; and
(b) in which an Act that corresponds to the Commonwealth Act is in force in accordance with the Agreement.
Participating Territory
means a Territory:
(a) that is a party to the Agreement; and
(b) in which an Act that corresponds to the Commonwealth Act is in force in accordance with the Agreement.
Head of Power for Making this Measure
4 Head of Power
This Measure is made pursuant to section 14(1)(g), 14(2)(a) and 14(2)(b) of the Commonwealth Act and the equivalent provisions of corresponding Acts in participating States and Territories.
Preamble
5 Preamble
This Measure forms part of an integrated suite of approaches being implemented by participating jurisdictions to manage emissions from diesel vehicles. Four broad approaches are available to manage vehicle emissions. These are to
specify emissions standards for new vehicles (vehicles which are not yet in use) and have manufacturers meet them;
provide appropriate clean fuels;
specify emission standards for in-service vehicles and improve the emissions performance of in-service vehicles to bring them into compliance with these standards; and
reduce vehicle use and encourage efficient driving behaviour.
It is the purpose of this Measure to provide a framework for the management of in-service emissions from diesel vehicles that complements and protects the emissions improvements obtained from existing regimes. New vehicle emission standards and fuel quality standards are specified in Commonwealth legislation. Strategies to reduce vehicle use are beyond the scope of this Measure.
Diesel Vehicle Emissions Policy Framework
6 Strategic context for the management of emissions from diesel vehicles
Diesel vehicles make a disproportionately high contribution to NOx and particle air pollution from the transport sector. The diesel vehicle proportion of the transport fleet is increasing and this trend is expected to continue. Emissions from diesel vehicles have the potential to cause adverse health effects and detract from urban amenity.
The National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure 1998 provides national air quality standards for six criteria pollutants. The criteria pollutants include PM10 and nitrogen dioxide, of which diesel vehicles are a significant emission source.
Jurisdictions should assess the need for the management of emissions from in-service diesel vehicles as a strategic option for:
reducing the exposure of the community to criteria pollutants, smoke and any other negative impacts associated with emissions from diesel road vehicles; and
achieving the goal of the National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure.
7 Principles for the management of emissions from diesel vehicles
Vehicle operators, both owners and drivers, have responsibilities that come with approval to use the road network. They must ensure that their vehicles continue to meet all applicable standards.
Governments, as regulators of on-road vehicles, need to have compliance programs in place that can ensure that operators are meeting these responsibilities. To ensure equivalent protection for the community, compliance systems should implement and achieve nationally consistent standards.
Community expectations and the impact of non-compliance need to be taken into account when assessing the adequacy of current levels of compliance.
8 Guidelines for developing compliance programs
Schedule A of this Measure contains Guidelines to assist jurisdictions to develop programs for reducing emissions from in-service diesel vehicles, in order to achieve compliance with appropriate in-service emissions standards.
Compliance programs may incorporate a combination of the approaches in the Guidelines. Emission management approaches other than those in the guidelines may also be implemented.
Compliance programs
A compliance program may include any or all of the following components:
information and education campaigns;
compulsory maintenance programs;
periodic inspections;
random roadside inspections;
alternative compliance programs;
information collection and determination of the need for targeted enforcement; and
a means of monitoring systems performance so that problems can be identified and solutions developed and implemented.
Communications program
Compliance programs will each require a communications program to inform the target audience/s of their responsibilities, the benefits that may be gained from compliance and the implications, for the operator and the community, of non-compliance.
Developing compliance programs
The factors to be considered in developing a compliance program include:
the status of air quality in an airshed;
the nature of the pollutants and their distribution both in space and over time;
the principal vehicular sources of pollutants which may be related to vehicle type or size, fuel type, traffic conditions or the manner in which vehicles are driven;
the ownership and operating patterns of high emitting vehicles;
compliance patterns of owners;
operators’ understanding of the environmental issues associated with high emitting vehicles and of the effectiveness of the solutions; and
the impact of a system on vehicle operators compared to the level of benefit the community may obtain. Important considerations in this respect are:
– the availability and quality of information about operator responsibilities;
– the ‘reasonableness’ of operator responsibilities;
– equity issues; and
– a system’s credibility, efficiency, effectiveness, cost and convenience.
Compliance program effectiveness
The effectiveness of programs will be assessed on their ability to achieve the Goal and Desired Environmental Outcome specified in Clause 10 and Clause 11 respectively.
Purpose and desired environmental outcome of the Measure
9 Scope
The scope of this Measure is to provide guidelines for developing programs to minimise the deterioration in exhaust emissions performance, or improve exhaust emissions performance, from diesel vehicles while they are in service.
10 Goal
The Goal of this Measure is to reduce exhaust emissions from diesel vehicles, by facilitating compliance with in-service emissions standards for diesel vehicles.
11 Desired environmental outcome
The desired environmental outcome of this Measure is to reduce pollution from in-service diesel vehicles.
12 In-service Emissions Standards
The assessment of in-service emission performance of the diesel fleet requires a means of objectively assessing the emission performance of vehicles against a benchmark for acceptable emission levels.
Participating jurisdictions will use the in-service vehicle emission standards and test determined by the Australian Transport Council or successor body as the benchmark against which to assess the emission performance of diesel vehicles.
The emission standards have been developed for determining pass/fail limits for the Test and Repair Program and for comparative purposes for the Audited Maintenance Program. However, they can also be used as a benchmark for assessing the effectiveness of the other three strategies.
Application of this Measure
13 Application
This Measure recognises the different degrees of impact of diesel exhaust emissions between and within participating jurisdictions. This Measure requires participating jurisdictions to assess the need to manage emissions from in-service diesel vehicles, taking into consideration the following criteria:
available data on emissions from diesel vehicles detailing any changes in aggregate emissions since this Measure was made or since the last report to Council under this clause;
growth trends in the number of diesel vehicles and annual total distance travelled of the diesel fleet;
an estimation of the proportion of diesel vehicles out of compliance with in-service emissions standards and an assessment of the impact of this level of non-compliance;
particular circumstances where contributions of emissions from diesel vehicles are significant;
relevant Standards specified in the National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure; and
other relevant information.
Where this assessment demonstrates a need to manage in-service diesel emissions, participating jurisdictions may use the Guidelines in Schedule A to develop compliance programs that are appropriate for their particular circumstances.
Vehicles crossing jurisdictional borders will be subject to the provisions of compliance programs implemented within the jurisdiction to which the vehicle has travelled.
Guidelines for developing programs for reducing in-service emissions
14 Schedules
Schedule A provides Guidelines on four approaches for improving the maintenance and operation of in-service diesel vehicles to reduce their emissions and hence their impact on the health and amenity of the community.
The Guidelines detail the components which characterise the structure and operation of each of the approaches to emission management.
Jurisdictions may adapt the Guidelines to their own circumstances and so their application may vary, for example, in their scale of operation or the sectors of the diesel fleet they cover.
The approaches to emissions management outlined in the Guidelines are not mutually exclusive. Jurisdictions may identify a combination of approaches as offering the best means of managing emissions from diesel vehicles in their jurisdiction.
Schedule A(1): Guideline on Smoky Vehicle Programs
Schedule A(2): Guideline on Emission Testing and Repair Programs
Schedule A(3): Guideline on Audited Maintenance Programs for Diesel Vehicles
Schedule A(4): Guideline on Diesel Vehicle Retrofit Programs
Reporting
15 Reporting requirements
(1) It is intended that each participating jurisdiction submit a report to the Council on the following matters:
(a) Assessment of the need to take action to manage emissions from the in-service diesel fleet, utilising the criteria specified in clause 13.
(b) Description of actions taken.
A brief description of all programs implemented during the reporting year to manage emissions from in-service diesel vehicles, including any programs implemented that are not covered by the guidelines in Schedule A of this Measure.
This description should take account of:
– the scope of action required to achieve the Goal and Desired Environmental Outcome specified in this Measure; and
– any action taken and progress made to reduce emissions from in-service diesel vehicles prior to the commencement of this Measure (relevant in the first year of reporting).
(c) Assessment of the effectiveness of any actions taken.
Participating jurisdictions must assess their progress in reducing emissions from in-service diesel vehicles identified as significant contributors to air quality problems. This assessment should include:
– an estimation of any change in the proportion of diesel vehicles out of compliance with in-service emissions standards; and
– an estimation of the reduction in diesel vehicle emissions to ambient air.
(2) Participating jurisdictions must submit a report under subclause (1) to the Council by 30 September next following each reporting year. The first reporting year will end 30 June 2002.
(3) In this clause ‘reporting year’ means a year ending 30 June.
Review of the Measure
16 Review period
This Measure will be subject to review five years from the date of commencement, or within any lesser period determined by the Council, which will consider:
(1) the effectiveness of the Measure in achieving the Goal and Desired Environmental Outcome set out within it;
(2) the resources available for implementing the Measure; and
(3) the need, if any, for amending the Measure (in accordance with the Act), including:
whether any changes should be made to Schedule A; and
whether any changes should be made to improve the effectiveness of the Measure in achieving the Goal and Desired Environmental Outcome set out within it.