The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that 1023 Diesel and Fleet, Inc., of Wasilla, Alaska paid a $65,000 penalty for the illegal sale and installation of aftermarket products that disable vehicle emission control systems, known as defeat devices.
"Diesel emissions are known health threats," said Ed Kowalski, Director of Region 10’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division. "The sale and installation of defeat devices like these is a fast track to a significant penalty.”
Between January 1, 2019 and March 1, 2021 EPA found that 1023 Diesel and Fleet sold at least 211 defeat devices and installed some of those devices on at least 32 heavy-duty diesel motor vehicles. The penalty amount was reduced based on the company’s inability to pay a higher penalty and continue in business.
To meet emission standards intended to protect public health, vehicle and engine manufacturers install certain hardware devices to reduce the amount of particulate matter and other harmful pollutants released into the air. These hardware systems are operated and monitored by software systems. The Clean Air Act prohibits manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, and installing aftermarket devices that bypass, defeat, or render inoperative the emission control systems. As a result of EPA's regulations, cars and trucks manufactured today emit far less pollution than older vehicles.
A November 2020 study found that sales of defeat devices for certain diesel trucks between 2009 and 2020 resulted in more than 570,000 tons of excess nitrogen oxide and 5,000 tons of excess particulate matter over the lifetime of the trucks. These pollutants contribute to serious health effects including premature mortality, aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, aggravation of existing asthma, acute respiratory symptoms, chronic bronchitis, and decreased lung function. Numerous studies also link diesel exhaust to increased incidence of lung cancer.
EPA focuses its enforcement and compliance assurance resources on the most serious environmental violations by developing and implementing national program priorities, called National Compliance Initiatives. This settlement is part of EPA’s National Compliance Initiative, “Stopping Aftermarket Parts Defeat Devices for Vehicles and Engines.”
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