Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, Ill., announced Thursday that it has received certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the company's on-highway truck engines manufactured after Sept. 30, 2002.

The certification means Caterpillar's truck engines will be available after the EPA emissions deadline of Oct. 1, 2002.
The EPA certification allows the sale of Caterpillar engines in 49 states (with the exception of California) and Canada with no restrictions for customers who purchase the engines.
With this EPA action, Caterpillar now expects California to complete the certification of engines by the California Air Resources Board.
The Caterpillar certification is conditional upon final EPA testing of production engines as required by the certification process. The EPA informed Caterpillar that it will be unable to complete the necessary certification work before the Oct. 1 federally mandated deadline. However, the EPA indicated that it does not foresee any obstacles to full certification of all Caterpillar engine families. Therefore, Caterpillar fully expects to receive complete EPA certification in the near future.
"We recognize the substantial amount of work that EPA must conclude in a short amount of time, and commend the agency for its desire to make sure the certifications are accurate and complete," said Sherril West, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for the company's Technical Services Division.
Caterpillar engines produced after Sept. 30 will be very similar to the company's current engines, but with some elements of Caterpillar's ACERT technology, West said. Engines with full ACERT technology will be commercially available beginning early next year.