Iowa, Nebraska companies fined for diesel emission tampering

LENEXA, Kan. (AP) — Two companies from Iowa and Nebraska have been fined for tampering with emission controls for hundreds of customers, the Environmental Protection Agency announced last week.

The companies — Midwest Truck Products of Cantril, Iowa; and South Central Diesel Inc. of Holdrege, Nebraska — installed or sold “defeat devices” that make emission controls inoperative, the EPA said.

“Aftermarket defeat devices are a significant contributor to harmful air pollution,” said Diane Huffman, acting director of EPA Region 7’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division in Lenexa, Kansas. “These illegal practices also impede federal, state, and local efforts to implement air quality standards that protect public health.”

Midwest Truck Products will pay a $75,000 penalty and South Central Diesel Inc. will pay a $50,954 fine. The EPA said the companies tampered with vehicles or sold the “defeat devices” to hundreds of customers.

The companies also certified that they have stopped disabling vehicle emission controls.