Sell unclean engines, pay a fine: EPA issued $2 million penalty to PowerTrain— Autoblog Green

What is it with companies thinking they can get around the Clean Air Act? Earlier this year, the second-largest refinery in the U.S.was fined $5.3 million(and required to upgrade pollution control systems for $700 million) for CAA violations. Before that, companies likePep Boys,CumminsandMercedes(among others) were all forced to pay fines for selling products that are just plain dirtier than they should be.

Today, the EPAannouncedthat PowerTrain is the latest to be hit with a CAA-violation fine. The company settled the case and will now have to pay $2 million because, between 2002 and 2007, it allegedly imported:

at least 79,830 nonroad engines or pieces of equipment containing nonroad engines that were not covered by certificates of conformity, and in most cases, could not be certified because they exceeded the emission standards.

These dirty machines, the EPA says, caused 152 tons of excess emissions of HC+NOx, which contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone, and an excess of 4,533 tons of carbon monoxide. PowerTrain is a Mississippi-based company that is connected to Wood Sales Inc. and Tool Mart Inc.

Source