The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Sunday
that it is withdrawing approval of the import and sale of up to 74,000
gas-powered on- and off-road motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles from China. The
agency believes that it received either incomplete or falsified certification
information.
EPA issued the vehicle certificates from 2006 to 2012 to two
companies that operate as Snyder Technology, Inc. and Snyder Computer Systems,
Inc. (doing business as Wildfire Motors Corporation). As a result of a lengthy
investigation, the agency believes that the applications for the certificates
contained misleading information and must be voided.
All vehicles imported into or manufactured in the United States
are required to have certificates of conformity. Manufacturers or importers must
submit an application to EPA that describes the vehicle and its emission
control system. It must also provide emissions data demonstrating that the
vehicle will meet federal emission standards for certain pollutants, including
oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and total hydrocarbons (HC)-all
of which can harm public health and the environment. These pollutants can
contribute to soot (fine particles) and smog (ground-level ozone), which are
associated with asthma and heart attacks, increased emergency room visits and
premature death.
In the cases of Snyder and Wildfire, EPA believes the
manufacturers failed to accurately test the emissions from their own products,
all of which were imported from China.
Without proper emission controls, these vehicles can emit substantially more
pollution than allowable under Clean Air Act standards.
Sunday's action impacts the companies that manufactured and
imported these vehicles. A consumer who owns a model that was covered by these
voided certificates is not responsible for these companies' wrongdoing and can
continue to use the vehicle.
For more information on the recreational vehicles involved,
visit http://epa.gov/otaq/recveh.htm.
