United States Air and Radiation EPA420-F-01-001
Environmental Protection January 2001
Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
vvEPA Frequently Asked
Questions
Emission Standards for Off-Road
Motorcycles and All-Terrain Vehicles
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced plans
to require manufacturers to reduce emissions from new off-road
motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and other recreational vehicles.
This fact sheet addresses questions we have heard from concerned
owners and operators of recreational vehicles.
Why is EPA bothering with such a small source of
pollution?
In the 1990 Clean Air Act, Congress directed us to look beyond cars and
trucks to reduce emissions from the wide range of nonroad engines.
Since then, we have set emission standards for engines used in construc-
tion equipment, locomotives, tugboats, sport boats, lawnmowers, and
many other types of equipment and machines. So far, we have not set
emission standards for off-road motorcycles, ATVs, or other recreational
vehicles, but the Clean Air Act requires us to address emissions from
these engines.
How will EPA go about setting standards?
We will first be learning from manufacturers, owners, environmentalists,
and many others. We need to evaluate potential emission-control tech-
nologies to see how well they work, how expensive they are, and how
they affect engine performance. Next year we will take all that informa-
> Printed on Recycled Paper
-------
tion and propose emission standards. Our goal is to see off-road motor-
cycles and ATVs with low emissions at reasonable prices.
Will EPA eliminate 2-stroke engines?
No. Once we set emission standards, manufacturers choose the best way
to design their engines. While it's true that today's 2-stroke engines have
high emission levels, manufacturers have been working on new fuel
injection technologies that would reduce the emissions from 2-stroke
engines while improving their overall performance. Some manufacturers
may choose to offer 4-stroke engines in some models. Manufacturers of
outboard and personal watercraft engines are currently making these
same decisions.
What will EPA do about off-
road motorcycles and ATVs
that are already in use?
Our emission standards apply only to new
engines. Engine manufacturers will likely
need to start selling the cleaner engines
starting in a few years, perhaps in 2005 or
2006. Any engines made before that time
are completely unaffected by our emis-
sion standards.
What about racing models?
In all our emission-control programs, we give special treatment to
"competition" engines. If something is used solely for competition,
emission standards won't apply. We need to learn more about how some
off-road motorcycles and ATVs are used for both racing and non-racing
purposes.
How will EPA decide what to do?
We are expecting many comments on our initial rulemaking publication
(the "Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking"), which are due by
February 5, 2001. We are also trying to do some testing to evaluate
different technologies. We will consider all the comments and other
-------
available information as we decide what to propose. We will publish a
complete proposal in September 2001, after which we will again expect
comments from many interested parties. We plan to make appropriate
changes and finalize emission standards in September 2002. This will
include written responses to the issues raised by commenters.
do?
We have made no decisions about emission-control technologies, so we
are eager to hear from anyone who is interested in how to reduce emis-
sions from off-road motorcycles and ATVs. You may send written
comments in paper form and/or by e-mail. In your correspondence,
please refer to Docket A-2000-01.
Send paper copies of written comments (in duplicate if possible) to:
Margaret Borushko
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
2000 Traverwood Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
You may also submit comments via e-mail to "nranprm@epa.gov".
I get
Look for the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the web site
for EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality at:
www.epa.gov/otaq/recveh.htm
For other information, please contact Line Wehrly at:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
2000 Traverwood Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
(734) 214-4286
e-mail: wehrly.linc@epa.gov
------- |