EPA Clarifies: Repair is good for clean air

Last year, in North Carolina’s Agricultural Right to Repair public hearings, manufacturers and their dealers turned out in force to oppose the right to repair. One key argument they honed in on: claiming that farmers already had access to repair “98%” of equipment and that allowing repair on the rest would cause farmers to bypass emission regulations and violate the Clean Air Act. 

We’ve known these claims are bogus and we argued against them then, but now the proof is even more clear.  Even under new MOU’s farmer’s still don’t have access to the same information as their dealers.  And now, in a recent letter to the National Farmers Union, the EPA has also stepped in to clarify that repair is in fact essential to keeping equipment within regulation. 

“Actions that qualify as repair or replacement are allowed under the Clean Air Act regardless of who makes them. Like the National Farmers Union and its members, the EPA believes barriers to the proper repair and maintenance of nonroad equipment is harmful to the environment,” 

– Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan

Farmers are critical to our society, and being able to repair their equipment in a timely, cost efficient manner is critical to them.  It’s time we stop making excuses, and pass state legislation supporting farmers and their right to repair.