Posted on 01/25/2013 9:58:02 AM PST by conservative98
In a court settlement with the EPA, Edge Products, a manufacturer of electronic power modules for diesel engines, has agreed to pay a $500,000 fine for manufacturing and selling electronic devices that allowed owners of Chevy, GMC, Ford and Dodge/Ram diesel pickup trucks (2007 and later) to remove the programming for diesel particulate filters from their vehicles.
The Ogden, Utah, company is reported to have sold more than 9,000 units from January 2009 through April 2011. This is said to have resulted in an estimated 158 tons of excess particulate matter emissions — the equivalent of 422 new long-haul semitrailers operating for 29 years, according to the EPA.
The civil penalty of $500,000 is based on the United States’ determination that Edge Products has a limited ability to pay a penalty in this matter.
In addition to the fine, Edge Products is required to offer to buy back the devices. To sell the device back to the company, the truck from which the device came must be returned to its original factory programming. Edge Products is also required to spend at least $157,600 to implement an emission mitigation project to offset the excess particulate matter emissions it caused. Edge Products will use the additional funds to offer rebates to individuals who own old wood-burning stoves and wish to replace them with cleaner burning appliances such as new pellet stoves or EPA-certified wood stoves.
Shortly after the U.S. introduction of diesel particulate filters in the in 2007, a number of suppliers started offering DPF removal kits (also known as “DPF delete” kits). These kits allow for the removal of the DPF without triggering any engine trouble codes, with potential side benefits being improved vehicle mileage and performance. The kits were also popular with diesel truck racers who wanted to run their daily driver at the track.
Most of the kits targeted three-quarter- and one-ton turbodiesel engines (mostly Duramax and Powerstroke). The case against Edge Products appears to be the first instance of an enforcement action by the U.S. against the sales and installation of DPF delete kits.
To our knowledge, there are no companies selling these types of kits at this date. For more EPA information on the case and settlement, click here.
I know a fellow who had one of these kits.
It’s hard to believe the difference in the power of that truck.;
EPA has sure taken away truck power.
My sister has a bus that uses a Caterpillar engine that has a regen system in it. She has had nothing but trouble with the damned thing. I hear Caterpillar even stopped putting the engine in new busses because of it.
Junk
” estimated 158 tons of excess particulate matter emissions” Can we get that converted to number of trips from DC to Hawaii in AF1?
That’s okay these kits will just move underground or become free on the interwebs (the computer code programming part of it)....
The EPA won’t be able to touch them then....
It will suck that no one will be able to make a honest living selling them, but the EPA will still be spited.
They increased the purchase price, reduced fuel economy and performance both, and required the conversion to ultra low sulfur fuel which is now considerably more expensive than gasoline.
I'm reading in trade pubs that smaller sized construction equipment is actually going from diesel to gas because of this.
Disgusting. EPA goes after a private company, sues them, creates litigation expense, and then whacks ‘em for $500K - all because consumers of their products elect to remove a device from their privately owned property (their truck).
So if I go out in the garage, crawl under the car with a cut-off wheel and chop out the catalytic converter, and replace it with straight pipe - does the EPA intend to sue GM?
If I decide to replace all my toilets with non 1.5 GPF units, does the EPA sue Kohler?
Does this court decision rank as some sort of precedent? Is the next step to sue gun manufacturers for making a weapon that can be easily converted to semi or full auto?
Yup, such a thing is so easy to create that it will take at most a day or two until one shows up on hackaday :-)
yeah but now you can breathe what comes out the exhaust ;-)
Software hacking is the modern-day way to hot-rod
Anyone who says that the EPA is the proper way to regulate pollution is being disingenuous or dense. There has never been any proof of global environmental effects. Pollution tends to have environmental effects that are localized to the area of the pollution. Therefore pollution controls belong at levels of government more answerable to the people actually affected. A non-constitutional agency with a left wing agenda and all the power of a bloated federal bureaucracy has very little to do with environmental protection and everything to do with economic control.
“the equivalent of 422 new long-haul semitrailers operating for 29 years”
I could be wrong, but as I recall, semi TRAILERS do not produce any emissions as they do not have engines.
“So if I go out in the garage, crawl under the car with a cut-off wheel and chop out the catalytic converter, and replace it with straight pipe - does the EPA intend to sue GM?”
Actually, I’d recommend just hollowing out the cat instead of replacing it with a test pipe - harder to detect from the outside.
american ingenuity and enrepreneurship stamped on again by a progressive evil agency in the name of pseudoscience.. where’s the separation of b’loney and hot air there?
vapourware violations.. on the slate next
I once had a Diesel VW Rabbit. Great little car, handled well, very high mileage, and ran like a charm with very little repair work needed.
The Gubbermint basically drove that car off the market. The only diesel cars you could get were very expensive, high upkeep, and constantly having trouble running.
It was a sad day when the Rabbit had to be junked.
RightOnTheBorder, Thank you. That’s exactly what I was looking for.
One more reason to kick the EPA out of anything that relates to car design. It’s bad enough to have cars detuned in the name of environmentalism, it’s another to see the EPA mandate lower mileage due to a filter.
That said, the EPA needs to stop trying to make the US’s car market look like the rest of the world - lots of small golfcarts with a few expensive exotics.
OR
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever
I had a diesel gnome in my life (RIP old friend) and told me things you don't know, such as...
* The low Sulfur fuels and higher temps to keep emissions low worried those concerned about engine longevity.
* Was not fond of K & N Filters, reduced engine life.
Yes we have entered the Zone Mark Levin has talked about where they will prosecute a Ham Sandwich if the ends justifies the means....
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