Lawn mowers, watercraft face emission reductions

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gasoline-powered lawn mowers that are a big cause of summertime air pollution will have to be dramatically cleaner under rules issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency.

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.

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.

“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 regulation had been delayed for years by opposition from Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., who took up the cause of small-engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton Corp., which builds many of its engines in Missouri. The final rule Thursday was issued more than a year after the draft rule came out in April 2007.

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.