# 2024-31123: California Gets Permission to Wage War on Leaf Blowers

2024-31123, California State Nonroad Engine Pollution Control Standards; Small Off-Road Engines Regulations; Notice of Decision, is a Federal Register notice from an unnamed agency published 2025-01-06, effective 2024-12-19; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-06-08).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2024-31123
- As of: 2026-06-08
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2024-31123
- Title: California State Nonroad Engine Pollution Control Standards; Small Off-Road Engines Regulations; Notice of Decision
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: unknown
- Citation: unknown
- Published: 2025-01-06
- Effective: 2024-12-19
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-06-08

## In one line

California Gets Permission to Wage War on Leaf Blowers

## Summary

The EPA just gave the green light to California’s updated rules for small off-road engines, like those in lawnmowers and leaf blowers, to cut pollution. This means manufacturers selling these engines in California must follow tougher pollution limits starting soon. If anyone wants to challenge this decision, they have until March 7, 2025, to speak up.

## Abstract

The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") is providing notice of its decision granting the California Air Resources Board's ("CARB's") request for an authorization of amendments to its small off-road engine ("SORE") regulations. CARB's amendments covered by this authorization include those adopted by CARB in 2016 and 2021. EPA's decision was issued under the authority of section 209 of the Clean Air Act ("CAA" or "Act").

## Effects PRIA read

- Zero-emission standards for most SORE: cost, high. If you make or sell small off-road engines in California, most 2024 and later model year engines must meet exhaust standards of zero (0.00 grams per kilowatt-hour) for hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen and evaporative standards of zero (0.00 grams per test). These zero-emission standards apply to…
- Phase-in for pressure washers and generators: cost, high. If you make pressure washer engines with displacement ≥225 cc or portable generator engines for California, those categories get more stringent (but not zero) emission standards starting in model year 2024 and will be required to meet the zero (0.00 g/kWh and 0.00 g/test) emission standards beginni…
- Updated certification and test procedures: cost, medium. California's 2016 SORE amendments update evaporative emissions certification procedures, revise the compliance testing procedure, and update the evaporative emissions certification test fuel to represent commercially available gasoline. These procedural and test-fuel updates are part of the authori…

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## Sources
- [2024-31123 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/06/2024-31123/california-state-nonroad-engine-pollution-control-standards-small-off-road-engines-regulations)
- [2024-31123 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-01-06/pdf/2024-31123.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2024-30702, Notice of Cashes Ledge Site Added to the Inventory of Areas for Possible Design…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2024-30702)
- [Next: 2024-31125, California State Motor Vehicle and Engine and Nonroad Engine Pollution Control…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2024-31125)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2024-31123 (as of 2026-06-08).