epa ordered to reevaluate snowmobile emissions findings

 
We have learned through industry sources that the Clinton administration has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to spend another year studying the emissions figures for snowmobiles. "We have not seen a full copy of the report yet," commented our source, who asked to not be identified. "We do know that the EPA report finds that the numbers our detractors have been using are overstated by 80 to 90 percent. What that means is that snowmobiles produce such a small amount of emissions for such a short window in the year that they aren't a significant source of pollution."

According to our source, the EPA finished the study and had a report ready to release but held it back, under administration pressure. "We urged the EPA to release the findings, but the administration instructed the EPA to reevaluate its study and subsequent findings, noting that it felt the numbers may contain significant errors." The administration gave the agency a one-year extension on its deadline.

What this means for the snowmobile industry is that we will be in a holding pattern for another year. Manufacturer spokespeople have repeatedly said that their companies have been pressuring the EPA for years for an analysis of snowmobile emissions and the creation of a minimum standard. Once that standard is in place, they said, their companies will finalize engine designs which will reach those goals.