Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today announced that a House-Senate Conference Committee has reached an agreement that would allow California to set its own emissions standards for small engines. The following is a statement by Senator Feinstein:

"This is a major victory for California. Our State already has the country's worst smog, and Senator Christopher Bond's proposal would have seriously crippled California's efforts to reduce dangerous and costly emissions. I am pleased we will now be able to continue our program. I hope other states which also have serious air pollution problems will be able to marshal the legislative resources so they can address the issue as well in the future.

The measure by Senator Bond that had been incorporated in the Senate-approved VA-HUD Appropriations Bill despite my strong opposition would have made it very difficult for California to meet Clean Air Act standards because it would have prohibited California from regulating emissions from small engines such as lawn mowers, portable generators and boat motors.

Small off-road engines are a significant source of air pollution in California. And on September 25 of this year, the California Air Resources Board adopted a regulation reducing emissions from off-road engines smaller than 25 horsepower, mainly lawn and garden equipment. This regulation is the equivalent of removing 1.8 million automobiles from California's roads by 2020.

Senator Bond's measure would have stopped this effort in its tracks. His proposal had been made on behalf of Briggs and Stratton, the nation's largest manufacturer of lawn mowers and other small engines. Other manufacturers did not express the same opposition to California's plan.

Thanks in part to help by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and California Representatives Jerry Lewis and David Dreier, we were able to get the House-Senate Conference Committee on Wednesday to remove the provision from an Omnibus Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2004. But the Conference Committee leadership told Senator Bond he could introduce an alternative amendment. I noted at the time: ‘The battle is not over.'

We went back and forth until late last night when a ‘carve-out' was achieved for California in a way that kept the original 1990 amendment to the Clean Air Act intact, but does not permit other states to follow new California inspired regulation. I regret this ‘do not travel' provision. But we had to agree to it as Senator Bond was holding up the Continuing Resolution,.which could have resulted in the shut-down of many parts of the government.

The following is the language of the new amendment, which has received approval from the House-Senate Conference Committee leadership:

Regulation of Small Engines -

(a) In considering any request from California to authorize the State to adopt or enforce standards or other requirements relating to the control of emissions from new non-road spark-ignition engines smaller than 50 horsepower, the Administrator shall give appropriate consideration to safety factors (including the potential increased risk of burn or fire) associated with compliance with the California standard.

(b) Not later than December 1, 2004, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall propose regulations under the Clean Air Act that shall contain standards to reduce emissions from new non-road spark-ignition engines smaller than 50 horsepower. Not later than December 31, 2005, the Administrator shall publish in the Federal Register final regulations containing such standards.

(c) No State or any political subdivision thereof may adopt or attempt to enforce any standard or other requirement applicable to spark-ignition engines smaller than 50 horsepower.

(d) Exception for California – The prohibition in subsection (c) does not apply to or restrict in any way the authority granted to California under Section 209(e) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7543(e)).

(e) Exception for Other States – The prohibition in subsection (c) does not apply to or restrict the authority of any state under Section 209(e)(2)(B) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7543(e)(2)(B)) to enforce standards or other requirements that were adopted by that State before September 1, 2003.

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