New Off-Road Diesel Regulations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized

landmark regulations on off-road diesel fuel and the engines that burn it. Sulfur concentrations, which are currently unregulated in off-road diesel fuel, will be capped at 500 parts per million (ppm) in 2007 and 15 ppm in 2015; meanwhile, soot and smog limits will be capped at levels 95% and 90% lower than today’s, respectively. EPA anticipates that once it is fully implemented, the new regulation will prevent 15,000 heart attacks and 12,000 premature deaths each year. The rule affects construction, farm, and industrial equipment, but trains, boats, and ships are exempted from the rule until 2012.