FAQs

Regulation

Registration

What are my operating period options?

Annual
Recommended for engines used on a regular basis and is valid for any consecutive 365 day period.

Monthly
Valid for any consecutive 30 day period.

Daily
Intended for very short term use. Valid for up to a consecutive 14 day period.

Annual Low-use
The low use option is valid for 200 hours in any consecutive 365 day period. The registrant is required to keep records of use and to notify the district director before each time the machine is used.

Refer to the fee break even points for the operating periods.

How do I register an engine manufactured for use outside of North America or the European Union?

Engines manufactured for markets outside of North America and the European Union are assumed to be Tier 0 unless it can be demonstrated otherwise by the registrant.
The registrant will:

Register the engine using the online registration application
Pay for an operating period before operation of the engine
Provide supporting documentation of PM emission rates of the engine to the District Director for review
If documentation supports a higher engine tier classification, a refund will be issued to registrant

The onus is on the registrant to provide supporting documentation about the PM emission rates of the engine.

What are the penalties if I operate in Metro Vancouver and don’t register or pay for an operating period for my Tier 0 or Tier 1 powered machine?

Failure to comply with the regulation is an offence and may result in:

tickets ($1,000 max)
fines ($200,000 max)

As of January 1, 2015, Tier 0 engines that had not been registered or not had a valid paid operating period for at least 90 days will no longer be eligible to operate in Metro Vancouver.

The same applies for Tier 1 engines after January 1, 2020.

Who is responsible to ensure that contractors and sub-contractors working on my site are in compliance with the Non-Road Diesel Engine Emissions Regulation Bylaw 1161?

The regulation was written in a way that makes everyone responsible. It states a “person” must not discharge, or cause, permit, or allow the discharge of any air contaminant into the environment from a non-road diesel engine unless in compliance with the regulation. It then defines a person as the operator of the equipment, the owner of the equipment, the land owner, a government body, or any director, officer, employee or an agent of a person or government body.

What if I experience problems accessing the online registration application?

If you are unable to register your engine due to the Non Road Diesel Registration System being unavailable, you will NOT be considered out of compliance. However, it is your responsibility to log back into the system to complete your engine registration in a timely manner once the system is available.

If you experience problems accessing the registration system outside of business hours, please email us at nonroaddiesel@metrovancouver.org. Alternatively, to speak to us please contact us during business hours at 604-432-6200 for assistance

How do I enter hours for my Annual Low Use Operating Period?

When a Low Use Annual Operating Period is purchased, you are required to submit the hours that the engine will be used prior to operation.

Select the engine from the ‘My engines’ list by clicking the Registration Number (eg 0115)
Under "What would you like to do?", select the "Enter Low Use Hours" link
Under "Enter Low Use Hours" section, enter the date, number of hours and location of the engine to be operated
Click Add
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for additional dates

Add all the future operating days, hours and locations for the engine as required.

Please note:

You cannot enter dates that occur in the past
You cannot delete entries for today’s date
When 200 hours are reached, the operating period will expire and a new operating period must be purchased

How do I renew an engine operating period?

Login to the NRDE Registration System https://apps.metrovancouver.org/NRDE/Security/Login.aspx
Select the engine that requires a renewal under “My Engine Listings”
Under “What would you like to do” select “Step 2: Select Operating Period”
Select the operating period type (e.g. Annual)
Click on the calendar icon to select your start date
Click the button labelled “Calculate Operating Period Fee”
Click the button labelled “Add to Cart”
Click the button labelled “Proceed to Checkout”
Select your payment method (Credit Card or Cheque)

***If paying by credit card: Click the button labelled “Pay Now”

***If paying by cheque: Click the button labelled “Generate Cheque Payment Invoice”

Labels

How do I label my machine?

You are required to label the opposite sides of your machine with a Tier label and with the Registration Number label. If you need to operate before receiving the labels, you can paint or otherwise permanently affix your own labels.

The following are requirements for labeling using either the provided labels or your own labels:

Painted on or otherwise permanently affixed on both sides of the exterior housing of the machine
In black characters at least 15 cm tall and 10 cm wide on a yellow or white background
Located at least 1.5 m above or as high as possible on smaller machines
Visible and legible at all times during operation

Engine Tiers

How do I determine my engine Tier?

Ways to determine your engine Tier:

Refer to Schedule 1 and Table 1 in the regulation
Use the Tier calculator provided on the website by entering your engine horsepower and engine manufacture year
Ask your manufacturer or dealer
Check your engine emission labels

The following table provides general guidance on estimating your non-road diesel engine tier level.

*Note that this table is for engines built for North America and the European Union (other markets – see engine manufacturer for more information).

Opacity

Idling

What are the idling restrictions of the regulation?

As of January 1, 2012

The regulation restricts idling of all non-road diesels engine to less than five consecutive minutes unless:

If required for safe operation of the vehicle or in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.
If necessary to serve the purpose of the machine in the course of its operations (crane, cement mixer, cherry picker, boom lift or similar machine)
If required for testing or maintenance.
If performing emergency work.
If as stated in a written anti-idling policy.

Note: An anti-idling policy is only required to be submitted to Metro Vancouver if requested by the District Director.

Fees & Payments

How much are the fees and what are my operating period options?

There are options to pay for daily, monthly, annual and annual low use operating periods. The operating period fees are based on the engine tier classification and horsepower. A $15 non-refundable administration fee applies to each transaction.

An example of annual fee rates is shown below. A Tier and fee calculator is available on the website to help you estimate your operating period fees.

Annual Fee Rates ($/hp)

Year	Tier 0	Tier 1	Tier 2 or higher
2012	$4	-	-
2013	$6	-	-
2014	$8	$4	-
2015	$10	$6	-
2016	$14	$8	-
2017	$20	$10	-

Can I reduce or eliminate fees?

Fees can be reduced or eliminated by reducing diesel soot emissions. Fees will be reduced proportionate to the reduction of diesel soot emissions and could even be eliminated if Tier 2 emission standards are met. In addition, 80% of fees paid over the previous 3 years will be refunded if an engine is permanently retired from use in Metro Vancouver or is upgraded to Tier 2 emissions standards or better. Please refer to the ERM (emission reduction measures) fact sheet to determine how to reduce diesel soot emissions.

What does Metro Vancouver do with the fees collected for this program?

One of the requirements of the Bylaw is that Tier 0 and Tier 1 (starting January 1, 2014) engines must be registered and pay fees to operate within Metro Vancouver. A portion of these fees are used to support the diesel regulatory program and the remainder of the fees are being held in reserve to support the incentive program for when registrants retire an engine or upgrade an engine to Tier 2 emission standards. Specifically, if an engine is retired or upgraded to Tier 2 emission standards (using an approved emission reduction measure), then a refund of 80% of the last 3 years fees is paid back.

How does the quarterly payment option work?

The quarterly payment option allows you to pay for your operating periods in four quarterly cheque payments. Interest of 5.00% per annum will be added to your invoice total when you select this option.

Note that this option is only available if all the operating periods on the invoice meet the following requirements:

All operating periods on this invoice must be Annual
All operating periods on this invoice must begin on the same date
The minimum total amount of the invoice is $5,000.00

Emissions Reduction Measures (ERM)

What is an ERM?

Emissions reduction measures (ERM) are tools used to reduce the amount of harmful diesel soot (particulate matter) from diesel engines. ERMs for non-road diesel engines include:

exhaust after-treatment retrofit devices using verified technologies*

diesel oxidation catalysts
flow-through filters
diesel particulate filters

re-power
re-manufacture
biodiesel

Further information regarding ERMs can be found on the ERM fact sheet.
*Verified technologies listed by the US EPA and CARB websites are accepted as approved emissions reduction measures under the Metro Vancouver regulation (US EPA-http://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/verification/verif-list.htm and CARB http://www.arb.ca.gov/diesel/verdev/vt/cvt.htm).

Other products may be considered for approval by the District Director but in the absence of EPA or CARB verification, the onus will be on the registrant to provide sufficient documentation to satisfy the District Director of the emissions reductions associated with these products.

Is biodiesel considered an ERM?

Yes. The US EPA includes biodiesel in the verified technologies list and can be used with Tier 0 engines. The particulate matter reductions associated with biodiesel are proportional to the amounted of biodiesel blended with petroleum diesel fuel. Generally every 1% increase in the blend achieves approximately 0.4% decrease in PM emissions. Biodiesel can be used with exhaust retrofit technology to further reduce emissions.

Diesel fuel sold in BC already contains 5% renewable content (biodiesel). To qualify for a fee reduction, the biodiesel content used in a non-road diesel engine needs to be greater than 5%.

The biodiesel percentage specified during the operating period selection must be used during the entire operating period. Records of engine use and receipts for fuel purchase must also be kept. Officers may also collect fuel samples to confirm biodiesel use.

Alternative Fuels

Does the regulation apply to engines using alternative diesel fuels?

Alternative diesel-fuels include Fischer-Tropsch (synthetic) fuels, biodiesels, blended fuels, and water emulsified fuels that can be used in a compression ignition (diesel) engine without engine or fuel system modifications. The Non-Road Diesel Engine Emissions Regulation applies to all non-road compression ignition (diesel) engines greater than 25 hp (19kW) regardless of fuel used, except for fee reductions for use of biodiesel.

Engine Retirement

How do I retire an engine?

A registered engine can be retired in 3 ways:

by selling the engine for use outside of Metro Vancouver
by scrapping the engine
by permanently removing it from Metro Vancouver

Proof of engine retirement is required to receive a refund of 80% of the fees paid in the last 3 years leading up to retirement. Full requirements for engine retirement can be found on the Engine Retirement Application Form.

Note that a retired engine is prohibited from any present of future operation within Metro Vancouver.

Health Effects

What are the health effects of diesel particulate matter?

Diesel engines emit a complex mixture of air pollutants. The visible emissions are known as particulate matter (PM) and sometimes called diesel soot. The particles are composed of carbon coated with other chemicals found in the exhaust gases including known cancer causing chemicals. When inhaled, the smallest of these particles can become embedded in the lungs or even pass through the lungs directly into the blood stream.

Diesel PM is linked to premature death and a number of heart and lung diseases. Diesel PM emissions are responsible for 67% of the lifetime cancer risk from air pollution in Metro Vancouver. Exposure to diesel PM is a health hazard, particularly to children, the elderly and those working around diesel exhaust. Check out the health facts sheet for more information.

Contact

Complaints