Demonstrated in March 2020 at the Cummins Medium Engine Plant in Wellsboro. Engines produced at the plant are at the center of Cummins’ $1.675 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over alleged violations of federal clean air laws.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Cummins Inc. has agreed in principle to pay a $1.675 billion fine to resolve charges that it illegally modified hundreds of thousands of engines to bypass emissions tests, in what would be the largest ever fine for violating the Clean Air Act. maximum fine. .
The Columbus-based company allegedly installed emissions suppression devices on 630,000 pickup truck engines and undisclosed auxiliary emissions on 330,000 2019 to 2023 model year RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engines, the government said. control device.
Cummins officials told The Republic that the engines in question are manufactured at the Cummins mid-range engine plant in Wellsboro.
Defeat devices are parts or software that bypass, disable or cause the failure of emission control devices such as emissions sensors and on-board computers.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the agreement would resolve allegations that the company illegally modified hundreds of thousands of engines to bypass emissions tests and violate the Clean Air Act.
The Justice Department said the penalty would be the largest ever imposed for a violation of the Clean Air Act and the second-largest environmental penalty ever imposed.
“The type of devices we allege Cummins installed in its engines that were designed to defraud federal environmental laws had significant and harmful effects on people’s health and safety,” Garland said in a statement. In this case, for example, our preliminary estimates suggest that a faulty device on some Cummins engines caused them to produce thousands of tons of excess nitrogen oxide emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says nitrogen oxide pollution can damage the human respiratory system and cause acid rain, among other things.
Cummins said it conducted an extensive internal review and has fully cooperated and collaborated with regulators on this matter for more than four years and has resolved many of the issues involved. Cummins said the company found no evidence that anyone acted maliciously and did not admit wrongdoing.
Cummins said it expects to spend about $2.04 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 to address these and other related issues involving about 1 million pickup truck applications in the United States. This includes approximately $1.93 billion, which is expected to be paid in the first half of 2024.
The company said it has recalled 2019 RAM 2500 and 3500 trucks and has initiated a recall of 2013 through 2018 RAM 2500 and 3500 trucks after the estimated cost of conducting these and other related recalls totaled $59 million.
In April 2019, Cummins revealed that it was formally reviewing its emissions certification and compliance process for pickup truck applications, following conversations with the EPA and the California Air Resources Board regarding 2019 RAM 2500 and 3500 truck engine certification. said in a press release at the time.
Cummins said in a 2019 press release that the review was conducted with outside consultants to ensure that the certification process for Cummins pickup truck applications complies with its internal policies, engineering standards and applicable laws. Cummins has voluntarily disclosed the review to regulators and other agencies and will work with them to ensure a complete and thorough review is conducted and recommendations for improvements are implemented.
Cummins spokesman Jon Mills told The Republic on Friday the company looked forward to reaching an agreement with regulators and planned to look to the future and decarbonize the industry.
“We’ve been working with these agencies on this for over four years, almost four and a half,” Mills said. We are pleased to have reached an agreement and look forward to reaching an agreement. We have a strong reputation for meeting emissions standards and a reputation as a great company, and we will continue to focus on the future. We are the industry leader in decarbonizing and we will continue to do our part to truly help our customers transition seamlessly and successfully and continue to stay ahead of the curve.
Garland said the Justice Department is working to formulate the agreement into a consent decree that will be filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The agreement is subject to regulatory and judicial approval.
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