Interim Step in EPA Engine Pact

The federal judge reviewing the settlement between the Environmental Protection Agency and diesel engine manufacturers agreed to allow the pact to go into effect while his review continues.

District Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. in Washington, D.C., responded to a request from EPA and the six manufacturers — Caterpillar Inc., Cummins Engine Co., Detroit Diesel Corp., Mack Trucks, Navistar International Transportation Corp. and Volvo Truck Corp.

“This decision basically just sets the consent decree in motion on an interim basis,” said Allen Schaeffer, vice president of highway and environmental policy at American Trucking Associations.

It means the engines the manufacturers are producing have to meet all the guidelines set out in the consent decree as if it were fully accepted by the courts and weren’t challenged by anybody.”

“The reason this was needed was that the engine manufacturers wanted to keep making engines,” said Bruce Ferguson, a lawyer with EPA’s Air Enforcement Division. He explained that EPA certificates that allow the manufacturers to sell their engines run out at the end of the year, and next year’s certificates are contingent on approval of the settlement.

“The certificates were the key because the thing we were being held hostage on in the first place was having certificates for 1999,”said Dan McEnroe, Detroit Diesel’s treasurer. “The whole deal was structured on a quasi-January 1 start date and I don’t think anyone wanted to go into the start of the year without knowing whether they had clean certificates.”

The interim order was dated Nov. 20 and lasts for 90 days or until the settlement is accepted or rejected by the court.

“By that time you would expect EPA would have read and responded to all the comments, made any changes in the final consent decree and then entered those proposed changes with the judge,” said Mr. Schaeffer.

Judge Kennedy also extended the deadline for public comment on the settlement from Dec. 5, 1998, to Jan. 12, 1999.

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