Motorsport enthusiasts were shocked earlier this year when they learned the Environmental Protection Agency was planning to enact new Clean Air regulations that would make turning road cars into race vehicles illegal. Fortunately for American gearheads, the agency has backed off after considerable pushback.
Back in February, we told you about a massive 629-page document published in the Federal Register which contained language aimed at prohibiting the removal of manufacturer-provided emissions equipment and catalytic converters from passenger vehicles being converted for track use.
From the document:
Certified motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines and their emission control devices must remain in their certified configuration even if they are used solely for competition or if they become non-road vehicles or engines; anyone modifying a certified motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine for any reason is subject to the tampering and defeat device prohibitions of paragraph (a)(3) of this section and 42 U.S.C.
The rule change first caught our attention after the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), a trade group representing the aftermarket auto part industry, cried foul over the EPA proposal.
“This proposed regulation represents overreaching by the agency, runs contrary to the law and defies decades of racing activity where EPA has acknowledged and allowed conversion of vehicles,” SEMA CEO Chris Kersting said in a statement. “Congress did not intend the original Clean Air Act to extend to vehicles modified for racing and has re-enforced that intent on more than one occasion.”
Now, following months of pressure from racing enthusiasts and some lawmakers, the agency has decided to do away with the language.
The agency said in a statement:
…EPA supports motorsports and its contributions to the American economy and communities all across the country. EPA’s focus is not on vehicles built or used exclusively for racing, but on companies that don’t play by the rules and that make and sell products that disable pollution controls on motor vehicles used on public roads. These unlawful defeat devices pump dangerous and illegal pollution into the air we breathe.
The proposed language in the July 2015 proposal was never intended to represent any change in the law or in EPA’s policies or practices towards dedicated competition vehicles. Since our attempt to clarify led to confusion, EPA has decided to eliminate the proposed language from the final rule.
SEMA officials say they are happy that the agency is backing off— but the issue has concerned the aftermarket part group enough to push for legislation ensuring the EPA doesn’t revisit the proposal in the future.
“We want to thank Congress for pushing EPA to withdraw an ill-conceived proposal. However, confusion reigns: the agency continues to assert new-found authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate modification of vehicles for use in competition.” Kersting said. “This means that those converting and racing competition vehicles, and the parts and services industries that support them, do so under new EPA policy that considers the activity illegal.”
SEMA is urging lawmakers to support the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports (RPM) Act of 2016 introduced in the House by North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry in March.
“Only clarifying legislation, such as that offered under the RPM Act, will confirm that such activity is legal and beyond the reach of future EPA regulations,” Kersting said. “The racing industry and public need a long-term solution to eliminate any uncertainty regarding how the Clean Air Act is interpreted.”
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