JB Automotive in Iowa Settles with EPA After Allegedly Selling ‘Defeat Devices’
Environmental News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JB Automotive is one of three additional firms that are part of a settlement involving Premier Performance of Rexburg, Idaho. Premier Performance has agreed to pay a $3 million penalty under the Clean Air Act (CAA) for illegally selling emissions-control “defeat devices” to businesses and individuals throughout the U.S.
EPA alleges that from approximately January 2017 to February 2019, Premier Performance and three of its related companies – JB Automotive in Iowa, RallySportDirect in Utah, and Stage 3 Motorsports in Arizona – manufactured or sold at least 64,299 parts or components that bypass, defeat, or render inoperative the manufacturers’ technology and design necessary to reduce vehicle emissions to meet state and federal CAA standards.
EPA estimates that, in terms of nitrogen oxides (NOx), the emissions impact of removing these controls from just one pickup truck is equivalent to putting about 300 new pickup trucks on the road. EPA estimates this action will prevent the release of approximately 3.5 million pounds of air pollution per year.
“These companies sold tens of thousands of aftermarket defeat devices, and as a result, tens of thousands of trucks now operate without the filters, catalysts, and other emissions controls that help keep our air clean,” said Ed Kowalski, director of EPA Region 10’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division. “These settlements will prevent future violations by requiring the companies to ensure that the products they sell do not adversely affect emissions.” Region 10 includes Idaho.
Tampered diesel pickup trucks emit large amounts of NOx and particulate matter, both of which contribute to serious public health problems in the U.S. These problems include 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.
To meet emission standards intended to protect public health, manufacturers employ certain hardware devices – such as exhaust gas recirculation, diesel particulate filters, and selective catalytic reduction – as emissions control systems to manage and treat exhaust to reduce levels of particulate matter, non-methane hydrocarbons, NOx, and carbon monoxide released into the air. These hardware systems are operated and monitored by software systems.
In an agreement reached in February 2021, the companies agreed to stop manufacturing and selling all products that violate the CAA, and advised EPA that they have implemented work practice standards and procedural safeguards to prevent the future sale of defeat devices.
The parts were designed and marketed for use on makes and models of diesel pickup trucks and engines manufactured by Cummins Inc., FCA US LLC, General Motors Company, and Ford Motor Company.
This action is part of EPA’s National Compliance Initiative: Stopping Aftermarket Defeat Devices for Vehicles and Engines.
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