WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Environmental Protection Agency has issued its final rule setting non-conformance penalties (NCPs) for engine manufacturers at as much as US$12,210.

The NCPs will be charged against manufacturers for each engine they sell after Oct. 1, which doesn’t comply with the coming standards for hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen.

The NCP rule establishes an upper limit of six grams per brake-horsepower-hour for heavy-duty engines. In this case, penalties could reach the $12,210-threshold.

A non-compliance level of three grams would lead to a penalty of $3,647, with penalties increasing substantially for higher levels of non-compliance, according to several U.S.-based sources.

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) fought on behalf of the trucking industry to seek a delay of implementation of the new standards, arguing that trucking companies should not be forced to use untested engines.

William Canary, ATA president and chief executive officer, calls the engine rule an, “egregious example where our government failed us.”

Engine maker Caterpillar, which has yet to receive certification for its engines, reports stiff penalties might lead to as many as 3,000 job cuts from its 17,000-member work force in the Peoria, Ill.-area.