United States engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. is facing the largest civil penalty for violating the Clean Air Act to be issued by the Environmental Protection Agency due to accusations of test cheating for diesel exhaust emissions.
The allegations against Cummins center around the company circumventing emissions control systems and tests that regulate the dangerous nitrogen oxide exhaust that diesel engines are known to emit. According to EPA, Cummins incorporated what is being referred to as “defeat device” software into their engine systems that caused them to cheat emissions tests. This software would detect when test conditions were present, allowing the engine to run in a lower emissions mode. When the tested engine exited the test, it would reset itself back to its normal emissions, much higher than the lower regulated rate.
Cummins has been accused of selling nearly half a million engines in the United States that are equipped with the software to cheat the emissions tests. The penalty that the EPA is levying against Cummins is the largest to be issued by the agency for Clean Air Act violations.
Cummins has publicly stated that the allegations of emissions test cheating are not true and that they do not design their engines to skirt existing regulations. Despite the statements from the engine manufacturer, EPA is standing firm on the penalty and the accusations against Cummins.
This issue has been a topic of conversation by those in the diesel engine industry due to the growing amount of engines being equipped with ever-increasing amounts of technology designed to keep emissions levels low. Manufacturers like Cummins are under increasing amounts of pressure to reduce emissions and consequences for test cheating rightly high.
The amount of the penalty against Cummins is still being settled between EPA and the engine manufacturer, but many expect it to be a record-setting figure. If the company is found guilty of the allegations against them, they also face potential legal action from a number of states who are taking a hard stance on emissions test cheating.
