Mower engines first to be hit by tough regs

Home Channel News, May 3, 1999

NATIONAL REPORT - New regulations governing emissions standards for outdoor power equipment engines will be phased in over the next eight years, with the engines that propel consumer-oriented lawn mowers the first to be affected.

Patricia Hanz, the director of environmental compliance for Briggs & Stratton, the Milwaukee, Wis.-based engine maker that is the industry's largest, detailed for NHCN the phase-in timetable for four-cycle engines on equipment to be sold in California and nationwide.

* In California, Tier II regulations for Class I (under 225-cc) vertical engines -- those typically running most walk-behind lawn mowers -- go into effect for model year 2002.

Regulations for Class I horizontal engines - used on most commercial mowers - go into effect model year 2006. ("Vertical" and "horizontal" refer to the position of the crankshaft. "Model year" will typically be considered the September before the beginning of the next calendar year.)

* Manufacturers of Class I vertical engines that produce more than 40,000 units per year for the California market are required to be in compliance with the new standards by model year 2000. This acceleration, which was agreed to several years ago when the state agreed to reduce its emissions levels, will affect two companies - Briggs & Stratton and Tecumseh - but not other engine makers like Honda and Suzuki. Hanz said her company and Tecumseh submitted their plan in March, and will be making compliant engines by September.

* Tier II regulations for Class II engines those typically found on riding mowers, generators and pumps - become active for model year 2002.

The Enviromental Protection Agency has its own new regulations, explained Hanz:

* Regulations for Class II engines will be phased in between model years 2002 and 2005

* New standards for Class I engines go into effect for model year 2008.

California has eliminated the distinction between handheld and non-hand-held engines, and is regulating them strictly by engine size. EPA, on the other hand, has maintained this distinction.

EPA made available the specifics of its standards for non-hand-held engines last June, but has yet to detail what the standards for hand-held engines will be, which is causing string trimmer manufacturers more than a little anxiety.