Chesapeake Bay Area Awaits Implementation of New EPA Emission Standards

Gasoline-powered lawn mowers will have to be dramatically cleaner under rules issued in September by the EPA.

The long-awaited regulation requires a 35-percent reduction in emissions from new lawn and garden equipment beginning in 2011. Big emission reductions are also required for speedboats and other recreational watercraft, beginning in 2010.

The reductions will be the equivalent of removing one out of every five cars and trucks on the road, according to Bill Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies.

The EPA said approximately 190 million gallons of gasoline will be saved each year when the rules take effect, and more than 300 premature deaths prevented annually. The rules will also reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, a major source of nitrogen to the Chesapeake Bay, and a key component of smog.

"These standards help fight smog in our neighborhoods and waterways as we continue to improve the environmental landscape," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson.

The EPA estimated the cost of implementing the reductions at $236 million a year, which will likely make its way to consumers in the form of more expensive lawn mowers and other machines.

Industry groups said exact figures were difficult to calculate, but the California Air Resources Board has estimated that walk-behind mowers would cost 18 percent more under the new regulation, while the price of commercial turf care mowers would rise about 3 percent.

Environmentalists welcomed the regulation, which applies to lawn care engines under 25 horsepower and to a full range of gas-powered personal watercraft. The rule requires a 70-percent reduction in emissions from recreational watercraft.

"These new clean air standards will reduce dangerous smog pollution from high-emitting gasoline engines while helping to cut costs at the gas pump,'' said Vickie Patton, the Environmental Defense Fund's deputy general counsel.

The reductions on lawn mower emissions will probably be accomplished by adding catalytic converters that reduce pollution from exhaust but add to the cost.