Guidance document on Off-Road Compression-Ignition Engine Emission Regulations: chapter 9

I. Other obligations

I.1 Obligation to provide maintenance instructions

Under section 15 of the regulations, a company shall ensure that written instructions for emission-related maintenance are provided to the first retail purchaser of every engine or machine. The company must ensure that those written instructions are consistent with the maintenance instructions set out in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The instructions must be provided in English, French or both official languages, as requested by the purchaser.

I.2 Obligation to provide instructions for the installation of an emission control system

Under section 15.1 of the regulations, a company shall ensure that written instructions for installing the engine and emission control system accompany the engine. It is also acceptable to have these instructions available at a place or on a website if the address is provided. The instructions must be provided in English, French or both official languages, as requested by the engine installer and they must contain the following:

  1. detailed installation procedures for the exhaust system, emission control system and any of their components
  2. an indication of any limits on the types of use for the engine to ensure that the emission standards are conformed to

I.3 Notice of defect

Given the complexity of the assembly process and the extensive supply chain for parts and components, there is always the possibility of a defect in the design, construction or functioning of the vehicle or engine that may affect its compliance with emission standards. The notice of defect provisions in section 157 of the act and section 25 of the regulations require companies to issue a notice of defect on becoming aware of a defect in the design, construction or functioning of the engine that affects or is likely to affect its compliance with a prescribed standard set out in the regulations.

The expression “on becoming aware of a defect” in subsection 157(1) of the act could be interpreted as meaning the moment at which a defect trend has been recognized by the company. A defect trend can be established from many sources including, but not limited to: audits, emissions test results; assembly line reports; reports from users; warranty claims; or other information received from government agencies. Existence of service bulletin(s) is suggestive that a trend has been established. There is no minimum threshold quantity of occurrences.

Subsection 25(1) of the regulations describes the information that must be provided in the notice of defect. The notice must be given to the Minister, to each person who has obtained an engine with the defect from the company and to each current owner of an engine with the defect.

Given the nature of the diesel engine and machine market, subsection 157(4) of the act provides flexibility regarding issuing notice to current owners. The Minister may order that the notice be provided by publication in daily newspapers or in an alternative medium or, if the circumstances warrant, order that the current owners need not be notified. The notice of defect provided to the Minister requires a description of the means available to the company to contact the current owner of each affected engine.

Within 60 days after a notice of defect has been given, the company must submit to the Minister an initial report containing the information described in subsection 25(2) of the regulations. The company must also submit, within 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter, quarterly reports to the Minister containing the information described in subsection 25(3) of the regulations. Subsequent follow-up reports, unless otherwise directed by the Minister, are required for a period of two years after the day the Notice was provided.

A typical sequence of events may consist of:

  1. company submits notice of defect to the Minister
  2. Environment Canada will notify the company of the due date for the initial report
  3. the company prepares its owner notification letter, and any necessary technical documents or service bulletins for its service network
  4. the company submits the initial report
  5. the company submits subsequent follow-up reports

There is no prescribed form to submit the information to the Minister or to notify current owners of the defect.

Pursuant to subsection 157(6) of the act, Environment Canada will forward all the information of each notice to the person responsible for vehicle or engine administration in each provincial and territorial government.

Under subsection 157(3) of the act, a company is not required to cause notice of defect to be given if a relevant notice has already been given in Canada by another person (for example, the engine manufacturer) for the same defect. The company is encouraged to obtain a copy of that notice of defect for its records.

All applicable documentation or enquiries should be addressed to:

Chief, Regulatory Administration Section
Transportation Division
Environment Canada
351 Saint-Joseph Boulevard
Gatineau QC  K1A 0H3

Reports may also be submitted electronically to the Regulatory Administration Section at Environment Canada or via fax to 613-953-7815.

I.4 Replacement engine

Under section 12 of the regulations, a replacement engine is “an engine manufactured exclusively to replace an engine in a machine for which no current model year engine with the physical or performance characteristics necessary for the operation of the machine is manufactured by the manufacturer of the original engine”. The physical or performance characteristics include characteristics such as engine dimensions, rated power, etc.

A replacement engine may conform to standards that are different from those prescribed in sections 9 to 11 of the regulations. Figure 4 illustrates the standards and specifications for replacement engines.

The company must apply a label to a replacement engine. Under subsection 12(3) of the regulations, this label must meet the requirements of labels under section 8 of the regulations and provide the following information:

1. a. a statement, in both official languages, that the engine is a replacement engine, (see Appendix VI for labelling)

b. the model year of the engine

c. the date of manufacture of the engine

d. the gross power category of the engine

e. an identification of the emission control system

f. the name of the manufacturer, or

2. meet the requirements set out in paragraph 89.1003(b)(7) of the CFR or section 240(b)(6), subpart C, of CFR 1068 as the case may be

It is Environment Canada’s intent that the newest, cleanest engine available should be used as a replacement engine. If no engine is available from the original engine manufacturer with the physical and performance characteristics necessary to operate the machine but a cleaner engine is available from another engine manufacturer, then the company seeking the replacement engine should use the other engine manufacturer’s engine. It is reasonable to expect that the company seeking the replacement engine would do its due diligence to find the cleanest engine available that could operate the machine.

Evidence of conformity must be submitted to the Vehicle and Engine Testing and Emissions Verification Section before the importation of the subject engine, or in the case of 153(2) before the subject engine leaves the possession or control of the company, or before affixing the national emissions mark to the engine. The evidence of conformity must include a copy of the engine information label for the replacement engine as well as supporting documentation to demonstrate that the flow chart in Figure 4 has been followed.

Figure 4: Standards applicable to a replacement engine

Figure 4 Standards applicable to a replacement engine (See long description below)
Long description of Figure 4

This flow chart can be used to determine what emission standards a replacement engine must meet, based on what engines are currently available and what the emission standards were for the model year of the original engine.

*Note there were no applicable emission standards for engines prior to the 2006 model year.

I.5 Obligation to provide an engine

Under section 159 of the act, upon request from the Minister, a company shall make available for testing any engine that was used in tests conducted in order to establish information submitted as evidence of conformity, or make available for testing an equivalent engine. The Minister will defray the transportation cost and pay the rental rate set in section 22 of the regulations. The annual rental rate is 12% of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of the engine, prorated on a daily basis for each day the engine is made available.

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