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January 11, 2024
By Caleb Jacobs
The EPA Isn’t Playing Around With Its
$2 Billion Cummins Diesel Emissions Penalty
“Cummins deserves to pay every
dollar,” the agency’s enforcement boss told The Drive.
The saga surrounding Cummins' $2 billion diesel
emissions cheating settlement with the United States government has
been dramatic. The manufacturer says it has "no evidence that anyone
acted in bad faith and does not admit wrongdoing," though it still
agreed to pay the largest civil penalty in history under the Clean Air
Act for allegedly installing emissions defeat devices or software on
nearly a million Ram 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks between 2013 and
2023.
Following the formal announcement of the settlement and a recall
covering 600,000 trucks, I sat in on a press call with highly ranked
officials from the DOJ, Environmental Protection Agency, and
California Air Resources Board where no one minced words. If you ask
them, Cummins blatantly cheated.
David M. Uhlmann, Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, spoke very candidly about the
case. "Cummins deserves to pay every dollar," he told me, calling the
company's actions a "brazen scheme." You'd probably expect an
enforcement leader to say such a thing, but just as important as the
words he said is the conviction that he spoke with.
Uhlmann was nominated for his role by President Biden and confirmed by
the U.S. Senate in July 2023. He has spent the past six months
strengthening the EPA's enforcement program, especially related to
cases involving the Clean Air Act. That's why he's spearheading the
federal government's action against Cummins, which is accused of
tampering with emissions systems on nearly a million trucks over the
past decade.
I asked Uhlmann directly what this
settlement says about the EPA's enforcement program going forward,
as well as its focus on the automotive industry. He replied,
“Polluters who break the law and expose our communities to harm will
be brought to justice. We have taken steps during this
administration to revitalize the EPA enforcement program which
suffered more than a decade of budget cuts. It was particularly
limited during the pandemic because we weren’t able to conduct the
on-site inspections that are at the heart of any environmental
enforcement program."
Uhlmann continued, “In the last year,
we have increased the number of on-site inspections we’re doing.
We’ve increased the number of criminal investigations we’ve opened.
We’ve settled more cases, brought in more penalty dollars, and as
today’s settlement makes clear, we’re not only pursuing more
cases—we’re pursuing bigger cases and seeking record fines. That
should send a message to the entire automotive industry that we will
not tolerate the type of illegal behavior that Cummins engaged in.”
This goes for automotive OEMs like
Cummins as well as aftermarket tuning companies, many of which the
EPA has made
an example of in recent years. Even if the federal government
won't name the exact components Cummins installed that were out of
compliance with emissions regulations, they'll continue to seek out
similar cases elsewhere. No matter how you feel about the Cummins
debacle, a record-setting penalty like this sets a precedent and the
EPA isn't afraid to go higher.
“If the price needs to go up to stop
misconduct, the price will go up," Uhlmann said.
Got a
tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@thedrive.com
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