An Oregon company bent on selling illegal “defeat devices” paid a high price.
In August, Diamond Eye Manufacturing settled a lawsuit with the Environmental Protection Agency, paying more than $265,000 and agreeing to post an announcement of the settlement on its website for eight weeks.
The company had to destroy its inventory of illegal parts. The company also had to notify customers about the settlement and that it would not be able to provide technical support or fill warranty claims for the illegal parts, according to the EPA.
The regulator said the Athena-based business sold 33,134 illegal parts between 2017 and 2019 that “enabled the removal of vehicle emission control parts.”
The Oregon Capital Chronicle reported that the EPA first targeted the product's distributors and then went after the manufacturer as well.
“All we do is bend tubes into crazy shapes for trucks. We make the pipes,” said James Smith, Diamond Eye's marketing and information technology manager. It is,” he said. “It’s up to the installer and the individual to decide whether to reinstall or weld the contaminating device back together.”
This argument seems disingenuous at best. As reported by the Capital Chronicle, Diamond Eye marketed the pipes sold by its distributors as “Cat Delete.” A catalytic converter is a device that captures harmful gases from exhaust gases and reduces them before they are released into the environment.
In December, engine maker Cummins was awarded $1.675 billion to settle a Justice Department lawsuit accusing it of installing these disabling or removal devices on about 1 million Ram trucks in violation of the Clean Air Act. agreed to pay.
In September, the Justice Department cracked down on illegal devices, accusing eBay of facilitating the sale of hundreds of thousands of products that allow drivers to engage in the dangerous act of “rolling coal.”
The EPA also reached settlements with six other companies that sold ineffective devices, but only one company was fined within the scope of Diamond Eye, Auburn, Wash.-based Competition Specialty. Tea's paid $225,368.
The report found that nitrogen oxides, non-methane hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter increased by 310 times, 1,140 times, 120 times, and 40 times, respectively, in unregulated vehicles. I am. Over the past four years, we have closed 172 civil cases and collected $55.5 million in fines and 17 criminal cases.
“Defeat devices further increase air pollution from vehicles, harming Americans' health,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “EPA will hold entities that sell these illegal products accountable. I'm wary of doing that.” “These settlements demonstrate EPA’s commitment to enforcing important environmental laws that protect clean air and public health.”
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