The Iowa House has passed a bill with new state restrictions on farm implement dealerships — so the owners of tractors and combines could repair the diesel exhaust fluid systems on the equipment themselves. Republican Representative Derek Wulf of Hudson, who’s a farmer, goes even farther, suggesting it could be interpreted to mean the systems could be permanently disabled.
In early February, the Trump Administration announced that under its interpretation of the Clean Air Act, the exhaust systems on diesel powered farm equipment may be disabled for repairs and manufacturers cannot justify limiting access to tools or software. The bill that cleared the Iowa House Monday night would require manufacturers to provide free information and software to diagnose and fix diesel exhaust systems. And they’d have to sell both the tools and replacement parts to make the repairs at a significantly reduced price.
The bill passed with the support of 55 Republicans and two Democrats. Opposition came from nine Republicans and two dozen Democrats. Representative Kenan (KEN-in) Judge, a Democrat from Waukee, says he’s all for saving farmers’ money, but permanently disabling the diesel exhaust system is risky.
On February 3rd, President Trump’s EPA administrator said the Clean Air Act prohibits the removal or disabling of emission control systems, but the law has an exception that lets the systems be disabled to make a repair.
