US EPA fines Premier Performance $3 million for selling ‘defeat’ devices
9 March 2021
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Premier Performance of Rexburg, Idaho, one of the nation’s largest sellers of aftermarket automotive parts, has agreed to pay a $3 million penalty under the Clean Air Act (CAA) for illegally selling emission ‘defeat’ devices to businesses and individuals throughout the United States.
The EPA alleged that from January 2017 to February 2019, the company and three of its related companies—JB Automotive in Iowa, RallySportDirect in Utah, and Stage 3 Motorsports in Arizona—manufactured or sold at least 64,299 parts or components that bypass, defeat, or render inoperative the manufacturers’ technology and design necessary to reduce vehicle emissions to meet state and federal CAA standards. The list of emission defeat products and the number of units sold, as alleged by the EPA in the consent agreement reached in February, includes:
- EGR delete hardware: 29,682
- Exhaust aftertreatment delete hardware: 2,464
- Tuning products: 21,9651
- Crankcase ventilation delete hardware: 7,117
- Throttle valve delete: 390
- Delete package: 8
- Air pump delete hardware: 1,209
- Tumble generator valve (TGV) delete parts: 1,464
The parts were designed and marketed for use on makes and models of diesel pickup trucks and engines manufactured by Cummins, FCA, General Motors, and Ford.
Under the consent agreement, the companies have agreed to stop manufacturing and selling all products that violate the CAA and have advised EPA that they have implemented work practice standards and procedural safeguards to prevent the sale of defeat devices.
This action is part of EPA’s National Compliance Initiative: “Stopping Aftermarket Defeat Devices for Vehicles and Engines.” During FY 2020, the initial year for implementation of this initiative, the agency resolved 31 civil enforcement cases for tampering and aftermarket defeat devices.
Source: US EPA