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	Name:	BDGRIFF -
	Subject:	EPA
	Date:	9/4/2008 6:00:16 PM

WASHINGTON - Gasoline-powered lawnmowers 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 emissions of these sources are huge, accounting for about a quarter of smog-forming emissions and carbon monoxide from the motor vehicle sector," Bill Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, said in a statement. "When fully implemented, this rule will be the air pollution equivalent of removing one out of every five cars and trucks on the road."

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 Johnson.

Senator had delayed rules
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 lawnmowers and other machines.

"Each year, Americans spend more than 3 billion hours using lawn and garden equipment and more than 500 million hours in recreational boating," the EPA said in a statement. "As a result, the total estimated public health benefits range between $1.6 and $4.4 billion by 2030. These benefits outweigh estimated costs by at least eight to one, while preventing over 300 premature deaths, 1,700 hospitalizations, and 23,000 lost workdays annually."

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.

"It's been an undertaking," said Kris Kiser, vice president of public affairs at the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, Inc. "Challenging, but again, fair and achievable and it's the right thing to do."

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.