An auto parts maker has been ordered to pay nearly $3 million to settle claims that the company manufactured and sold emissions defeat devices in violation of the Clean Air Act.
On September 16, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Justice Department announced that Austin, Texas-based COBB Tuning Products agreed to pay a civil penalty of more than $2.9 million for allegedly manufacturing and selling defeat devices that bypass or disable EPA-approved emission controls and harm air quality.
As part of the agreement, COBB must also:
- Remove delete features from its software.
- Destroy violative products still in its inventory.
- Cease providing technical support or honoring warranty claims for previously sold violative products.
- Revise its marketing materials.
- Notify the customers that purchased the subject parts that the products at issue violate the Clean Air Act.
- Conduct compliance training for its employees and contractors.
The EPA alleges that COBB manufactured or sold more than 90,000 defeat devices since January 2015.
“Defeat devices, which are often sold to enhance engine performance, work by disabling a vehicle’s emission controls, causing air pollution. As a result of enforcement efforts, some of the largest manufacturers of defeat devices have agreed to pay penalties and stop the sale of defeat devices,” the EPA said.
“Defeat devices significantly increase air pollution from motor vehicles, particularly in communities that already are overburdened by pollution,” said Assistant Administrator David M. Uhlmann of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Use of illegal defeat devices has gone on for far too long. EPA will use all of its enforcement tools to hold polluters like COBB Tuning accountable until these illegal practices stop.”
“COBB created software that allowed users to disable emissions controls, increasing pollution and violating the law,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are committed to enforcing the Clean Air Act, which remains one of our most important tools in helping to secure and maintain a clean environment.”
Other companies recently fined by the EPA for defeat device manufacture, sale, or installation include Rudy’s Performance Parts Inc., Full Force Diesel Performance, Inc., Thoroughbred Diesel, and Cummins, Inc., which was ordered to pay a $1.675 billion penalty, the largest fine ever issued for a violation of the Clean Air Act, and the second largest environmental fine issued in U.S. history, according to the DOJ.