The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concerning the agency's "Nonroad Diesel Emissions Standards--Staff Technical Paper," calling EPA's preliminary findings as outlined in the paper an overdue action to minimize the uncertainty associated with the next phase of compression ignition (typically diesel) engine emission regulation.
AEM urged EPA to finalize its Tier 3/Tier 2 regulatory timetable as soon as possible. According to the association, equipment manufacturers are positioned at the end of the development chain in that the emissions regulation applies to the engine, and thus equipment manufacturers can only begin to deal with the machinery redesign issues after their engine suppliers have established the technology path to conformity.
Any further indecisions or delays could seriously jeopardize the equipment industry's ability to meet the published effective phased-in dates by power category, stated AEM. The association added that diesel emission compliance provisions still under consideration should be deferred to a separate rulemaking process.
