Maine truck company to pay $75K for emissions violations

WINDHAM, Maine (AP) — A Maine truck sales company will pay $75,000 to the Environmental Protection Agency as a penalty for allegedly tampering with emissions controls on diesel vehicles from 2017 to 2019.

The penalty agreement settled allegations APlus Truck Sales of Windham meddled with emission controls on diesel vehicles by selling and installing aftermarket parts called defeat devices, the EPA said in a statement reported by The Portland Press Herald on Monday.

In 2019, an engineer at the EPA filed a complaint with the Maine District Court, saying they had reason to believe APlus Truck Sales was violating the Clean Air Act.

The EPA officials found the company violated 60 stipulations of the Clean Air Act. The company has since halted the sale and installation of the devices as a part of the settlement.

According to the Clean Air Act, tampering with a vehicle’s emission control system is illegal, and results in the increase of emissions of pollutants like nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. The EPA said testing shows that installing defeat devices results in adverse health effects.

Attempts to reach APlus Truck Sales’ attorney were unsuccessful, the newspaper said.