epa issues standards for snowmobiles

Last month (September, 2001) the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on proposals for more stringent emission standards for off-highway vehicles. While the new policies promote cleaner snowmobile engines, they will affect design and manufacturing throughout the rest of this decade.

By 2006, sled makers, under the proposed rules, will have to cut engine emissions - primarily hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide - by 30 percent from present levels. By 2010 snowmobile emissions will need to be 50 percent of present levels.

Snowmobiles produced prior to the effective dates of the new standards would not be affected and would remain legal to own and operate. The EPA typically allows several years of lead-time between publication of a final rule and the effective date of a new standard. Snowmobile manufacturers would be responsible for ensuring the new products are in compliance once the standards take effect.

"Every snowmobile manufacturer has been working to establish a reasonable emission rule with the EPA since 1994, when the manufacturers first hired Southwest Research Institute to help the industry and the EPA develop correct emissions data on snowmobiles," said Ed Klim, president of International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association (ISMA).

"The four snowmobile manufacturers have a long history of working closely with the EPA in developing standards that protect the environment and enable the manufacturers to provide American families with an outdoor recreational vehicle for winter use."

The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register in October and the public and manufacturers will be invited to comment on the rule until December 19, 2001. According to Klim, snowmobile manufacturers are preparing comments, focused primarily on the 2010 standard, which the manufacturers did not anticipate, along with various administrative provisions previously discussed with the agency.

"When we concluded our meetings with the EPA, we understood certain elements of the proposal quite differently than ultimately proposed by the agency, so we're eager to find out what happened when the rulemaking package was finalized," said Klim. "Our industry has very proactively pursued cleaner engine technologies that meet ever-increasing environmental standards without sacrificing the fun and reliability of snowmobiles," said Klim.

"Considerable investments continue to be made to accelerate the evolution of engine design. As these new models are phased into production, it is important to establish standards and realistic implementation timetables that keep snowmobiles affordable to American customers. This point has been addressed in rulemaking for other industries. We expect that it will be applied to our industry as well."