Source: The New York Times< August 19, 2016
Posted on: http://www.advisen.com
Harley-Davidson has agreed to pay a $12 million civil fine and stop selling illegal aftermarket devices that cause its motorcycles to emit too much pollution, the Justice Department said on Thursday.
The settlement resolves government accusations that Harley sold roughly 340,000 ”super tuners,” enabling motorcycles since 2008 to pollute the air at levels greater than what the company certified to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Harley did not admit liability, and said in a statement that it disagreed with the government’s position, arguing that the devices were designed and sold to be used in ”competition only.”
The company said the settlement represented ”a good-faith compromise with the E.P.A. on areas of law we interpret differently, particularly E.P.A.’s assertion that it is illegal for anyone to modify a certified vehicle even if it will be used solely for off-road/closed-course competition.”
According to the government, the sale of such so-called defeat devices violated the federal Clean Air Act. Harley was also accused of selling more than 12,600 motorcycles that were not covered by an E.P.A. certification governing clean air compliance.
The announcement comes at a time of greater scrutiny on emissions and defeat devices by regulators in Washington after Volkswagen admitted using illegal software to evade emissions standards in nearly 600,000 vehicles in the United States.
The settlement calls for Harley-Davidson to stop selling the super tuners by Tuesday, and to buy back and destroy all such tuners in stock at its dealerships. The E.P.A. said the modified settings increased power and performance, but also increased the motorcycles’ emissions of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides.
Harley, based in Milwaukee, will also spend $3 million on an unrelated project to reduce air pollution, the Justice Department said.