Companies involved in the importation of mini-trucks should be alert to a new EPA enforcement initiative intended to curtail the arrival of vehicles that do not meet federal Clean Air Act (CAA) standards. EPA estimates that 3,000 to 4,000 mini-trucks are sent from Japan to the United States each month.

Off-road mini-trucks are largely used for construction and maintenance at a wide range of facilities, including campuses, golf courses, large factories, warehouses, ranches or dairies, horse stables, theme parks, airports, and cemeteries.

Under the CAA, mini-trucks must be certified by EPA to be in compliance with United States emissions standards before importation. Non-road vehicles are subject to less stringent emissions requirements than road vehicles. To qualify for the non-road category, a vehicle may not be capable of traveling more than 25 mph.

EPA regulations require that mini-trucks be fitted with an EPA-approved speed-limiting governor before importation. Importers must complete EPA Declaration Form 3520-21 to indicate the means of compliance with the CAA. The form must be submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), along with other CBP entry documents. The imported vehicles must also be made available to CBP for examination.

In cases where vehicles were converted to non-road mini-trucks and imported after December 8, 2008, only those modifications installed before importation and approved by EPA in writing are sufficient to render a mini-truck a legal non-road vehicle.

EPA says it has joined CBP in pursuing enforcement against importers of illegally imported mini-trucks. EPA reports that one importer of 63 mini-truck paid $63,000 to resolve charges that the trucks were uncertified motor vehicles under the CAA.

An EPA enforcement alert on the importation of mini-trucks is available here.

[Source: Environmental Manager's Compliance Advisor. Subscribe today!]