EPA Clarifies Agricultural Equipment Repair Rights

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has responded to a request from the National Farmers Union (NFU) for clarity on their right to repair agricultural equipment. In its reply letter to the NFU, the EPA confirmed that the Clean Air Act of 1990 prohibits agricultural equipment manufacturers from preventing farmers, or an independent repairer of their choice, from repairing emissions-related components of equipment their.

The EPA noted that manufacturers' service manuals cannot steer equipment owners away from independent repairers. They also made explicit that,"a manufacturer cannot condition its warranty on service by a franchise dealer or someone with which the manufacturer has a commercial relationship. Furthermore, manufacturers must provide a boldface notice on an instruction's first page that, "maintenance, replacement, or repair of the emission control devices and systems may be performed by any automotive repair establishment or individual." Finally, the EPA's letter addressed NFU's concerns about tampering. "The act prohibits anyone from removing or rendering inoperative any device or element of design of the emissions control system in regulated equipment," stated NFU's letter."

Click the following link to read the EPA's letter in its entirety: epa-administrator-michael-regan-responds-to-the-national-farmers-union[11]