The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced settlements with two automotive parts manufacturers for violations of the Clean Air Act.
According to the EPA, the companies manufactured or sold aftermarket auto parts that bypassed or disabled required emissions control systems (i.e., defeat devices). The two will pay a total of $15,000 in penalties.
The announcement highlights two separate administrative settlement agreements:
- APEX Integration Inc. manufactured and sold 44 aftermarket exhaust systems for gasoline-powered vehicles that bypassed catalytic converters. The company, headquartered in Orange, Calif., will pay a $5,000 penalty.
- JAMO Performance Exhaust LLC sold aftermarket exhaust system parts for diesel-powered trucks that enabled the removal of catalytic converters on vehicles. The company, headquartered in North Las Vegas, will pay a $10,000 penalty.
“Emissions controls on cars and trucks protect public health and the environment from excessive air pollution,” says Mike Stoker, the EPA’s Pacific Southwest regional administrator. “We will continue to investigate and bring companies into compliance so everyone can breathe easier.”
Both companies’ penalty amounts were reduced due to financial hardship, the EPA says.
The EPA explains that mobile sources are a significant contributor to air pollution, and aftermarket defeat devices that disable mobile source emission controls exacerbate this problem. To address this, the agency has developed a National Compliance Initiative that focuses on stopping the manufacture, sale and installation of defeat devices on vehicles and engines used on public roads, as well as on non-road vehicles and engines.
