Is Tier 5 on its way to the United States?
That’s up to the EPA, but if Europe is any indication it won’t be a big deal.
One thing that clearly stood out at the Intermat trade show this spring is that the diesel engine emissions saga isn’t over yet. The good news is the next round of engine emissions regulations are going to be easy to meet, and they’re not due for some time.
“The engine industry is generally happy with the dates and regulations,” said Richard Payne, Cummins off-highway regulatory affairs director for Europe.
Regulators in Europe are zeroing in on 2019/2020 for their next step in emissions restrictions, what they call Stage V. Since the engine business is global, European regulations closely parallel those in the United States to prevent OEMs from having to make a different engine for every market. The only major difference is in nomenclature. European Stage IV was our Tier 4, Stage III equaled Tier 3. And their Stage IIIb equaled our Tier 4 Interim.
Since European and U.S. regulations have been nearly identical for more than a decade, presumably the United States will adopt the same standards as Stage V at the same time and likely call them Tier 5. But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not yet said if it wants these new regulations or when. California, however, is following the developments in Europe closely and may seek to create their own regulations along the same lines as Stage V, Payne says.
