Cummins to Pay Nearly $1.7 Billion
Cummins to Pay Nearly $1.7 Billion for Installing Emissions Defeat Devices in Engines
Source: WISH-TV
COLUMBUS, Ind.–Cummins, which is based in Columbus-Indiana, has agreed to pay almost $1.7 billion to settle claims that they violated the Clean Air Act, says the U.S. Justice Department on Friday.
The agreement says Cummins has agreed to pay $1.675 billion for installing emissions defeat devices on hundreds of thousands of engines.
The Clean Air Act requires automakers and engine manufacturers to ensure their products meet U.S. emissions standards.
A defeat device is any motor vehicle hardware, software, or design that interferes with or disables emissions controls under real-world driving conditions, even if the vehicle passes formal emissions testing. The term appears in the US Clean Air Act and European Union regulations, to describe anything that prevents an emissions control system from working, and applies as well to power plants or other air pollution sources, just like automobiles.
“The types of devices we allege that Cummins installed in its engines to cheat federal environmental laws have a significant and harmful impact on people’s health and safety. For example, in this case, our preliminary estimates suggest that defeat devices on some Cummins engines have caused them to produce thousands of tons of excess emissions of nitrogen oxides. The cascading effect of those pollutants can, over long-term exposure, lead to breathing issues like asthma and respiratory infections,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The Justice Department says Cummins installed defeat devices on 630,000 model year 2013 to 2019 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engines. They also believe Cummins added auxiliary emission control devices to 330,000 model year 2019-2023 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engines.
This $1.675 billion penalty would be the largest ever for a Clean Air Act violation and the second-largest environmental penalty ever secured by the Department of Justice.
Cummins designs, manufactures, sells, and services diesel and alternative fuel engines, generators, and related equipment. The company has several thousand workers at its facilities in Indiana and more than 60,000 employees across the world.
