EPA Finalizes yacht builder emissions regulations

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CHICAGO – On Tuesday, May 6, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule in the Federal Register that is designed to reduce exhaust emissions from diesel-powered recreational boats and simultaneously helps the industry avoid a series of very detrimental aftertreatment catalyst-based standards, the National Marine Manufacturers Association reported in a statement yesterday.

As originally proposed, the rule, titled “Control of Emissions of Air Pollution from Locomotive Engines and Marine Compression Ignition Engines Less Than 30 Liters Per Cylinder” (Vol. 73, No. 88, pp. 25098), would have required U.S.-flagged recreational marine diesel powered vessels with engines greater 2000 kW to install catalyst aftertreatment systems, the association stated. The original proposal had serious flaws that would very negatively impact the U.S. recreational yacht industry, according to NMMA.

“The final, published rule is a significant achievement for recreational yacht manufacturers,” said John McKnight, NMMA director of Environmental Safety & Compliance. “If passed with its original language, this rule had the potential to very severely impact recreational yacht builders. Apparently, many yacht builders believed the EPA rule only applied to U.S.-flagged vessels, which do not compose the lion’s share of their market. However, once a rule like this gets on the books and the technology is required, it could spread to all vessels operated within U.S. waters, regardless of horsepower or where the vessel is flagged.”

“Imagine a requirement where only yachts built or sold in the U.S. would be required to install aftertreatment. It could legitimately happen, and the entire marine industry needs to be vigilant against this type of discriminatory regulation,” McKnight added.

A diesel catalyst system requires urea, a chemical made from ammonia and carbon dioxide. It also requires low-sulfur fuel (less than 15ppm). Urea is not necessarily suitable for storage on a recreational yacht, nor is it widely available. If a vessel was operating with medium- to high-sulfur diesel fuel, the catalyst could be severely damaged, stated NMMA. The lack of availability of both ultra-low sulfur fuel and urea in many foreign ports luxury yachts frequent could have severely compromised the value of U.S.-flagged vessels, according to the association.

“The major flaw in EPA’s proposal was that the rule only applied to U.S. flagged vessels,” explained McKnight. “When NMMA provided information to EPA in its comments and testimony that there are only 90 U.S.-flagged vessels in operation today, we were able to convince the Agency that the rule, as proposed, would only encourage more yacht owners to flag their vessels outside the U.S.”

Fortunately, in the final rule published May 6, EPA agreed with NMMA’s position and exempted recreational yachts from Tier IV catalyst based standards. The final rule instead requires engine manufacturers to meet the more stringent Tier III requirements; however, this requirement will be transparent to yacht builders, NMMA explained.

Despite this key regulatory accomplishment, McKnight warned recreational yacht manufacturers they can rest a bit more easily, but not relax completely.

The International Marine Organization (IMO) Marine Protection Committee released a proposal on April 4 requiring aftertreatment on all recreational and commercial diesel marine engines greater than 750 hp. NMMA is working closely with the ICOMIA Marine Engine Committee (IMEC) and the European Association of Internal Combustion Engine Manufacturers (EUROMOT) to oppose this proposal, it said.

IMO would only require a recreational yacht traveling to ports within countries that signed a treaty with the organization to be equipped with aftertreatment; however, the significance of the proposal is that countries that have signed IMO treaties encompass a majority of the well-traveled world.

To date, the United States has not signed a treaty with IMO. If, however, the proposed IMO rule is finalized as-is, EPA will move quickly to adopt aftertreatment standards, according to NMMA.