Trucking news and briefs for Friday, April 7, 2023:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week announced a consent order with Joshua Davis and three diesel shops after a complaint was filed by EPA last summer against all for manufacturing, selling and installing aftermarket "defeat devices" to get around emissions systems.
The order requires Davis, River City Diesel LLC, RCD Performance LLC, and Midwest Truck and 4WD Center LLC, based in East Peoria, Illinois, “to stop manufacturing, selling, offering to sell, and installing devices that bypass, defeat, or render inoperative EPA-approved emission controls and harm air quality, commonly referred to as Aftermarket Defeat Devices,” EPA said.
The settlement resolves a complaint filed in August 2022 in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, alleging that Davis and the other defendants' manufacturing, sales and installation of tens of thousands of defeat devices violated the Clean Air Act.
Davis and the companies will pay a $600,000 penalty, which was based on their financial situation, and agree to notify customers that they will no longer provide technical support or honor warranty claims for the defeat device products.
“By providing devices that avoid air emissions controls, defendants helped others cheat a system designed to protect the public’s health, in particular, elderly and young children,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s settlement holds them accountable for their unlawful acts and not only prohibits the future sale of aftermarket defeat devices by the Defendants, but also mandates Clean Air Act compliance training for all of their employees.”
[Related: EPA cracks down on emission system ‘defeat devices’]
