EPA Proposes Emission Standards for Non-road Ignition Engines
EPA on Friday proposed a rule that will set emission standards for new nonroad spark-ignition engines and said it will substantially cut emissions from these engines. The proposed standards would take effect in 2011 and 2012 for different engine sizes.
The engines to which the standard applies are used mostly for lawn and garden work. "We estimate that by 2030, the proposed standards would result in significant annual reductions of pollutant emissions from regulated engine and equipment sources nationwide, including 631,000 tons of volatile organic hydrocarbon emissions, 98,200 tons of NOX emissions, and 6,300 tons of direct particulate matter (PM 2.5) emissions," EPA said. "These reductions correspond to significant reductions in the formation of ground-level ozone. We also expect to see annual reductions of 2,690,000 tons of carbon monoxide emissions, with the greatest reductions in areas where there have been problems with individual exposures.
These improvements will prevent 450 premature particulate matter dates and 52,000 lost work days per year, said EPA, which estimated total annual benefits at about $3.4 billion in 2030 and estimated costs that year at "many times less at approximately $240 million." The agency is accepting comments until Aug. 3 via www.regulations.gov; identify them by Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2004-0008.