Listen: Fight against sale of illegal pollution-defeating devices

KPCW’s This Green Earth had UPHE on their talkshow last week to discuss our ongoing campaign against the sale of pollution-defeating devices on trucks. 

Our lawsuit against the Diesel Brothers set a precedent for holding mobile emission polluters accountable to the Clean Air Act. Pollution-defeating devices, despite being illegal, are still sold by certain car parts stores across the country. These devices can increase the pollution level of vehicles up to 20 times. 

The latest battle against the sale of these devices came from a similar lawsuit against TAP 4 Wheel Parts, a national company. We reached a consent decree with the company, in which they agreed to stop selling the parts nationwide. The agreement also established compliance programs of $100,000 each for both Davis County and Weber-Morgan Health Department to help get vehicles within the legal limits. 

The Clean Air Act is a federal law that was passed to protect public health. The EPA has expressed plans to ramp up enforcement on the law, but polluters are still getting away with breaking the important environmental law. The Utah Department of Environmental Quality also has the ability to crack down on this issue. Although it may seem like a small impact, thousands of vehicles are tampered with each year. The cumulative pollution adds up quickly and poses additional health risks. 

UPHE is working hard on behalf of the residents of Utah and we will continue to hold companies accountable if they are breaking environmental laws by selling pollution control defeat devices.