This section describes how you may implement design changes for emergency equipment that has already been placed into service to ensure that the equipment will perform properly in emergency situations.
(a) You must notify us in writing of your intent to install or distribute an emergency equipment field modification (EEFM). In some cases you may install or distribute an EEFM only with our advance approval, as specified in this section.
(b) Include in your notification a full description of the EEFM and any documentation to support your determination that the EEFM is necessary to prevent the equipment from losing speed, torque, or power due to abnormal conditions of its emission control system during operation related to emergency response, or to prevent such abnormal conditions from occurring during operation related to emergency response. Examples of such abnormal conditions may include excessive exhaust backpressure from an overloaded particulate trap, or running out of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) for engines that rely on urea-based selective catalytic reduction. Your determination must be based on an engineering evaluation or testing or both.
(c) You may need our advance approval for your EEFM, as follows:
(1) Where the proposed EEFM is identical to an AECD we approved under this part for an engine family currently in production, no approval of the proposed EEFM is necessary.
(2) Where the proposed EEFM is for an engine family currently in production but the applicable demonstration is based on an AECD we approved under this part for an engine family no longer in production, you must describe to us how your proposed EEFM differs from the approved AECD. Unless we say otherwise, your proposed EEFM is deemed approved 30 days after you notify us.
(3) If we have not approved an EEFM comparable to the one you are proposing, you must get our approval before installing or distributing it. In this case, we may request additional information to support your determination under paragraph (b) of this section, as follows:
(i) If we request additional information and you do not provide it within 30 days after we ask, we may deem that you have retracted your request for our approval; however, we may extend this deadline for submitting the additional information.
(ii) We will deny your request if we determine that the EEFM is not necessary to prevent the equipment from losing speed, torque, or power due to abnormal conditions of the emission control system during operation related to emergency response, or to prevent such abnormal conditions from occurring during operation related to emergency response.
(iii) Unless we say otherwise, your proposed EEFM is deemed approved 30 days after we acknowledge that you have provided us with all the additional information we have specified.
(4) If your proposed EEFM is deemed to be approved under paragraph (c)(2) or (3) of this section and we find later that your EEFM in fact does not meet the requirements of this section, we may require you to no longer install or distribute it.
[77 FR 34147, June 8, 2012, as amended at 79 FR 46375, Aug. 8, 2014]