Lawnmowers must be greener by 2011

WASHINGTON - Gasoline-powered lawnmowers that are a big cause of summertime air pollution will have to be dramatically cleaner under rules issued yesterday 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. Reductions are also required for speedboats and other recreational watercraft beginning in 2010.

The reductions will be the equivalent of removing one out of every five cars and trucks on the road, according to Bill Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies.

EPA said about 190 million gallons of gasoline will be saved each year when the rules take effect, and more than 300 premature deaths prevented annually.

The regulation had been delayed for years by Senator Kit Bond, Republican of Missouri, who took up the cause of small-engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton Corp., which builds many of its engines in Missouri. The final rule yesterday was issued more than a year after the draft rule came out.

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.

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 commercial turf care mowers would rise about 3 percent.

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