10 U.S. States Object To EPA Reducing Harley-Davidson Emissions Penalty

OFF THE WIRE
Published by Cyril Huze

Ten U.S. states and the District of Columbia said Thursday they are challenging a decision by the Trump administration to drop a requirement that Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG) spend $3 million to reduce air pollution under settlement the Obama administration announced.
In 2016, the Milwaukee-based motorcycle manufacturer agreed to pay a $12 million civil fine and stop selling illegal after-market devices that caused its vehicles to emit too much pollution, and spend about $3 million to retrofit or replace wood-burning appliances with cleaner stoves.
The Justice Department in July cited a new policy by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and an ongoing review of the penalty by a government auditor in proposing to drop the $3 million penalty from the settlement. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan must still deicide whether to approve the revised agreement.
The Harley-Davidson settlement resolved allegations that Harley sold about 340,000 “super tuners” enabling motorcycles since 2008 to pollute the air at levels greater than what the company certified. Harley-Davidson did not admit liability, and said previously it disagreed with the government, arguing that the tuners were designed and sold to be used in “competition only.”

The Harley-Davidson settlement came amid greater scrutiny on emissions and “defeat devices” by U.S. regulators after Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) admitted to using illegal software to evade U.S. emissions standards in nearly 600,000 U.S. vehicles in September 2015. (Via Reuters)