United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Office of Enforcement
and Compliance
Assurance(2201 A)
EPA 300 N 06 008
EPA Enforcing Stringent Standards for All Nonroad Engines
Agency Assesses $819,000 in Penalties for More Than 55,000 Pieces of Illegal Equipment
Imports are surging, mostly from
China, of small engines used in
nonroad equipment such as small
tractors, lawnmowers, off-road
motorcycles and generators. A
disturbing portion of these engines are
not certified to meet emission standards
under the Clean Air Act. The situation
is made worse by the dramatic increase
in the number of foreign manufacturers
of the equipment and the increase in
inexperienced U.S. companies and
individuals who import it. Illegal
equipment is being offered for sale to
customers in this country through
retail outlets and, increasingly, over
the Internet.The U.S.Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and the
U. S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) have teamed up to intercept
this influx of illegal imports at the
border.
The Clean Air Act (CAA) prohibits
the manufacture or importation of all
types of nonroad engines and
equipment unless the engines are
certified by EPA as meeting emission
standards and display the appropriate
EPA emissions label. Imported
equipment containing nonroad engines
that fail to meet all CAA requirements is
subject to seizure and export outside of
North America. The importer of such
illegal equipment or engines will be
required to pay a substantial penalty (as
much as $32,500 per engine).
EPA is strongly committed to
enforcing its nonroad mobile
source regulations. In
cooperation with
CBP, the agency has stepped up
interception of illegal imports. EPA
has also increased its inspections
nationwide at dealerships and of
online companies that import and/or sell
nonroad equipment. Over a recent ten-
month period alone, EPA assessed
$819,155 in penalties for the importation
of 55,832 pieces of illegal nonroad
equipment valued at nearly $ 13 million.
Emissions Impact
Roughly half of the air pollution in
EPA nonroad regulations
cover a variety of equipment,
including small tractors,
lawnmowers, off-road
motorcycles, chainsaws and
excavators (pictured).
the United States is caused by on-road
and nonroad engines. These mobile
sources of air pollution include cars,
trucks and buses, as well as the wide
range of gasoline and diesel engines
found in nonroad equipment used in
construction, agriculture, and lawn and
garden equipment, in dirt bikes, and as
marine engines. The air pollutants
emitted by mobile sources include
paniculate matter, volatile organic
compounds (VOC), air toxics and oxides
of nitrogen (NOx). These pollutants
cause serious health and environmental
problems. They have been linked to
many respiratory health problems, such
as asthma, heart disease and cancer.
Recent CAA emissions standards, in
conjunction with advances in
combustion technology and fuels, are
significantly reducing these emissions.
For example, certified engines now emit
two to three times fewer emissions than
uncertified engines.
For more pollutant information see
http: //www. epa.gov/otaq/invntory/
overview/pollutants/index, htm
Nonroad Regulations
Regulated nonroad mobile sources
are a highly diverse group of engines
and equipment, ranging from small
handheld gasoline engines used in
garden equipment to very large
locomotive diesel engines, and
everything in between. ( See Table 1
inside for an overview of these
categories.) The regulations set
emission limits for each category
of nonroad engines and
C. establish testing, certification,
ife labeling, warranty, recall and
\ record-keeping requirements.
! \ Some nonroad engine
categories have phase-in
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provisions and effective dates that vary
by engine size. An engine must be
certified by EPA that it meets
emissions standards and must bear a
permanently affixed EPA emissions
label before it can be imported into
the United States or produced
domestically for use in this country.
For more information on nonroad
engines and the applicable federal
regulations please see: http://
www. epa. gov/otaq/invntory/overview/
examples.htm
Please note that emissions
certification requirements also apply
to stationary diesel engines, and have
been proposed for stationary gasoline
engines. For more information, see
http ://www. epa. gov/ttn/atw/nsps/
cinsps/cinspspg.html and http://
www. epa. gov/ttn/atw/nsps/sinsps/
sinspspg.html
Importer and Manufacturer
Responsibility
Both the original engine
manufacturer (the company that
assembles the engine) and the
importer are responsible for ensuring
that engines imported to the United
States comply with all certification
standards and requirements. For
example, importers and manufacturers
are prohibited from importing or
manufacturing engines that are not
properly EPA-certified and labeled.
EPA highly recommends that
importers inspect the engines they
intend to import to verify that they are
EPA-certified and labeled. Importers
are also responsible for ensuring that
the engine manufacturer will honor the
emissions warranty. (This warranty is
separate and apart from any other
manufacturer warranty.) Depending
on engine type and size, the warranty
period may vary from two to five
years. The importer also bears
responsibility for any requirements
not met by the original engine
manufacturer. For more information,
see:
http ://epa. gov/otaq/imports
Importer Must Complete EPA
Declaration Form
Importers of gasoline and diesel-
powered nonroad equipment must
demonstrate that the engines comply
with all applicable standards and
requirements. As part of this process,
they must complete EPA Declaration
Form 3520-21, which requires
confirmation of EPA certification or a
description of the applicable exemption.
Form 3520-21 must be submitted to CBP
upon request along with other CBP
entry documents; see 42 U.S.C. § 7601,
and 19 C.F.R. § 12.74.
The importer must also present the
completed form to EPA officials
upon request and retain a
copy for five years after
Mobile generators are
among the most common
types of nonroad equipment
regulated by EPA.
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importation. Some exemptions require
EPA approval before importation. The
importer Form 3520-21, with
instructions, is available at: http://
www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/forms/3520-
21.pdf
Emissions Certification
Requirements
EPA emissions certification
requirements apply to engines
manufactured in the United States and to
engines that are imported for sale in this
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country. Ordinarily, the engine
manufacturer, not the importer, obtains
EPA certification for imported engines.
However, an engine importer also may
apply to EPAfor a certificate if the importer
assumes all the responsibilities of the
manufacturer.
For specific citations for each
nonroad regulation refer to Table 1.
For certification requirements, refer
to Table 2.
Enforcement Process When an
Importation Violation is Found
When EPA or CBP determines that
imported equipment does not meet the
EPA emissions certification requirements,
CBP detains or seizes the equipment. EPA
and CBP then coordinate on enforcement
to address the CAA violations, including
collection of a penalty and exportation of
the illegal equipment. The maximum
penalty is $32,500 for each illegal engine,
although penalties may be reducedforfirst-
time violators and for importers who
voluntarily disclose and remedy the violation
and all prior violations. CBP or EPA may
also initiate a criminal action against an
importer who knowingly makes false or
fraudulent statements, or who omits
material information required in CBP
entry documents. Persons who commit
these crimes are subject to a fine of up to
$250,000 or imprisonment for up to two
years, or both, see42 U.S.C. §7413(c)(2).
Don't Let This Happen to You...
»An owner of abusiness in Florida
was sentenced to six months house
arrest and two years probation for
attempting to smuggle generators with
uncertified gasoline and diesel engines
into Port Everglades and Miami. The
owner forfeited the generators valued
at $26,885. For more information on this
case, see:
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls/
PressReleases/060504-01 .html
» A company in Puerto Rico paid a
civil penalty of $100,000 for importing
more than 2,000 uncertified and
unlabeled diesel and gasoline
generators. The generators were seized
Sample Emission Label for Small Gasoline Engines
Important Engine Information
XYZ Manufacturing, Inc.
This engine is certified to operate on gasoline.
This engine conforms to 2006 U.S. EPA regulations for small
nonroad engines.
Emission Compliance Period: 500 hours
Engine Family: 6XYZS: 1451AB
Engine Displacement: 145 cc
Date of Manufacture: 4/2006
Exhaust Emission Control: TWC
Lubricant Requirements: SF15W-40
by CBP during September 2005. The
company had declared, without proof,
that regulated mobile generators were
for unregulated stationary use.
»A company in Ohio paid a civil
penalty of $86,000 to EPA and CBP for
importing seven uncertified and falsely
labeled pieces of nonroad construction
equipment with large diesel engines.
The company had claimed the
equipment was certified.
» A company in North Carolina paid
a civil penalty of $62,000 for importing
forty-three uncertified and unlabeled
small diesel tractors. Three of the tractors
were seized by CBP in Portland, Ore., in
January 2006. The company had claimed
the tractors were certified.
For more information on Mobile
Source Importation Settlements, see:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/compliance/civil/
programs/caa/importation/
Compliance Assistance
EPA is also committed to providing
compliance assistance and outreach to
the regulated community so that the
public and the environment can be
protected from the harmful health
effects of emissions from illegal nonroad
equipment. For more information, see:
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/
monitoring/programs/caa/mobile.html
and http://www.epa.gov/
OTAQ/actions.htm and http://
www. epa. gov/otaq/nonroad. htm
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Policies That Reward Compliance
EPA has two policies that reward
companies that bring themselves into
compliance with environmental laws.
Both EPA's Incentives for Self-Policing,
Discovery, Disclosure, Correction and
Prevention of Violations (Audit Policy)
and its Policy on Compliance Incentives
for Small Businesses (Small Business
Policy) encourage greater compliance and
environmental audits by substantially
reducing or eliminating penalties for
entities that voluntarily discover, disclose
and expeditiously correct violations of
environmental law. For more information,
see the following websites:
http: //www. epa.gov/compliance/
incentives/auditing/auditpolicy.html
http: //www. epa.gov/compliance/
incentives/smallbusiness/index.html
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Does a missing EPA label on
a nonroad diesel or gasoline engine
matter?
Answer: Yes. If an engine is not properly
labeled, the engine is presumed to be
uncertified. Therefore, the importer
would not be permitted to import the
engine or sell it in the U. S.
Question: May an uncertified engine
with similar or even identical emission
characteristics as a certified engine be
legally imported as "certified?"
Answer: No. Manufacturers may
produce uncertified versions of engines
that are identical to United States'
certified versions as long as the engines
are not intended for the U.S. market.
These engines are not legal for
importation into this country because
they are not produced under an EPA-
issued certificate, are not properly
labeled, do not have the required EPA
emissions warranty, and are not subject
to EPA audits during manufacturing and
potential recall for defects.
Question: May an uncertified engine be
imported for export without documenting
that the engine is merely making an
intermediate stop and without
posting of a bond?
Answer: No. Uncertified
engines that are destined for a
foreign country must be
labeled for export on the
engine and the container.
AnEPADeclarationForm
3520-21 must be
completed and an
appropriate bond must be
paid.
Dirt bikes are regulated under
EPA's recreational vehicles
provisions, 40 CFR parts 1051
and 1068.
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EPA's Air Enforcement Office
MarkSiegler
siegler.mark@epa.gov
(202) 564-8673
Anne Wick
wick.anne@epa.gov
(202) 564-2063
EPA's Air Program Office
Imports and Certification
Hotline: (734) 214-4100
Imports (lmports@epa.gov)
Fax requests to (732) 214-
IMPO (4676)
Important Information:
www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/
index.htm
Certification Test Results:
www.epa.gov/otaq/crtest.htm
Nonroad Certification Data:
www.epa.gov/otaq/
certdata.htm
Other Resources
CBP (Customs/ Importations)
www.cbp.gov
CaliforniaAir Resources Board
The State of California has
separate emissions certifications
requirements for nonroad
engines.
General Number (800) 242-4450
Disclaimer
This document attempts to clarify in plain language some EPA provisions. Nothing in this Enforcement
Alert revises or replaces any regulatory provision in the cited part, any other part of the Code of Federal
Regulations, the Federal Register or the Clean Air Act, as amended. For more information:
www.epa.gov/compliance
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