Congressmen Work to Block EPA Proposal on Race-Modified Street Cars

Five members of Congress have introduced a bill to exempt full-time race cars from the EPA's street car regulations.

Five members of Congress have introduced a bill to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from regulating former street cars that have been modified for full-time racing duty. The bill comes in response to a move by the EPA to clarify its authority over modified racing vehicles that was brought to light early in February. 

Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) introduced H.R. 4715, the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2016, in Congress this week. "Recently, the EPA has issued a proposed rule that would make it illegal for this practice to continue via the Clean Air Act," the release says. "However, Congress never intended for race cars to be subject to the Clean Air Act. The RPM Act would simply confirm that race cars are exempt from EPA regulation via the Clean Air Act." The RPM Act is co-sponsored by representatives Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Richard Hudson (R-NC), Bill Posey (R-FL), and Lee Zeldin (R-NY). 

The act responds to a piece of EPA language submitted as part of a giant, 629-page proposal drafted in July 2015, but brought to light by a press release published by the Specialty Equipment Manufacturer's Association last month. As an EPA spokesperson explained to R&T last month, "people may use EPA-certified motor vehicles for competition, but to protect public health from air pollution, the Clean Air Act has – since its inception – specifically prohibited tampering with or defeating the emission control systems on those vehicles."

The EPA characterized the new proposal as a clarification of existing law; the agency maintains that tampering with or defeating emissions control systems on vehicles sold for public road use has always been illegal, and that the wording change only sought to clarify that. "In the course of selecting cases for enforcement, the EPA has and will continue to consider whether the tampered vehicle is used exclusively for competition," a spokesperson told R&T. "The EPA remains primarily concerned with cases where the tampered vehicle is used on public roads, and more specifically with aftermarket manufacturers who sell devices that defeat emission control systems on vehicles used on public roads."

Still, a bill expressly confirming race-only vehicles, which will never be operated on public roads, as exempt from street vehicle regulations, is a necessary aspect of maintaining legal and law-abiding participation in the many forms of amateur and semi-professional motorsports we all enjoy. We applaud the members of Congress sponsoring this bill for standing up for the rights of American racers.