Guidance Document - Off-Road Small Spark-Ignition Engine Emission Regulations under CEPA, 1999

7. Evidence of Conformity

• 7.1.  What records could satisfy the requirement of demonstrating that an engine is sold concurrently in Canada and the U.S.?
• 7.2.  When must the evidence of conformity be submitted?
• 7.3.  What is the procedure to provide evidence of conformity "in a form and manner satisfactory to the Minister" for the engines referred to in section 17 of the Regulations?

Sections 16 to 18 of the Regulations identify the records respecting the evidence of conformity that must be provided upon request.

For an engine that is covered by an EPA certificate of conformity and that is sold concurrently in Canada and in the U.S., the evidence of conformity is

1. a copy of the EPA certificate of conformity;
2. a document demonstrating that the engine is sold concurrently in Canada and in the U.S.;
3. a copy of the records submitted to the EPA when applying to obtain a certificate a conformity; and
4. the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency engine information label affixed to the engine.

For an engine that is not covered by an EPA certificate of conformity or that is not sold concurrently in Canada and in the U.S., the evidence of conformity shall be obtained and produced in a form and manner that is satisfactory to the Minister. Please refer to section 7.3 of this guidance document.

7.1  What records could satisfy the requirement of demonstrating that an engine is sold concurrently in Canada and the U.S.?

Paragraph 16(b) of the Regulations requires a document demonstrating that an engine covered by an EPA certificate is sold concurrently in Canada and the U.S. Examples of evidence include:

1. a copy of an invoice for the sale of an engine to a person in the U.S.;
2. a copy of an invoice for the sale of a machine containing the engine to a person in the U.S. accompanied by documentation showing that the engine was installed in the machine; or
3. other evidence sufficient to demonstrate concurrent sales of engines in the U.S. and Canada.

7.2  When must the evidence of conformity be submitted?

A company is required to provide the evidence of conformity in respect of any engine only upon request from the Minister. This request can apply to engines manufactured in the eight years preceding the request and evidence of conformity must be provided in either official language within 40 days after the request is delivered. If the evidence of conformity must be translated from a language other than French or English, the company has 60 days to provide the evidence.

While the Regulations do not oblige a company to maintain these records, there is an obligation to make them available on request. Accordingly, companies are urged to ensure that the necessary arrangements are in place to fulfill this obligation.

7.3  What is the procedure to provide evidence of conformity "in a form and manner satisfactory to the Minister" for the engines referred to in section 17 of the Regulations?

For an engine that is not covered by an EPA certificate of conformity or sold concurrently in Canada and in the U.S., section 17 of the Regulations states that evidence of conformity must be obtained and produced in a form and manner satisfactory to the Minister. The evidence of conformity in this situation must be submitted prior to importation of the subject engine.

Figure 3 illustrates the procedure to provide evidence of conformity "in a form and manner satisfactory to the Minister" for the engines referred to in section 17 of the Regulations.

Figure 3: Procedure for Canada-only engines

Click the image to view full size version.

The Department expects that companies obtain and produce evidence of conformity that is comparable to that specified in paragraphs 15(c) and 15(d) for EPA certified engines. A company should therefore obtain and produce the following evidence:

1. results of the emissions testing of the Canada-only engine obtained using the applicable procedures set out in the CFR;
2. data required to repeat this testing;
3. credentials of the laboratory where the testing was performed, especially experience in obtaining test results used in support of certification by the EPA;
4. sample of an engine information label.

Test results and data required to repeat the testing may be presented in the same format used when applying to the EPA for a certificate of conformity.

The Department will expect an information label to be affixed in the same location specified in the Regulations. This engine information label should include:

1. a statement of compliance, such as "this engine conforms to all applicable standards under the Canadian Off-Road Small Spark-Ignition Engine Emission Regulations" or the national emissions mark if the company has been authorized to apply it; and
2. the name of company, the model year, and sufficient information to demarcate the engine for which the evidence of conformity has been assessed to be satisfactory.

To save space on this label, a company may use the code system shown in Table 4 instead of providing in full the information listed under item (2). This code is based on the engine family identification developed by the EPA.