Cat Recalling Engines EPA Says Didn't Meet Emissions Standards;

snowflake

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Caterpillar is recalling more than 590,000 on-highway and off-road diesel engines and will pay a $2.55 million penalty to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations for shipping the engines without the correct emissions controls. Caterpillar also allegedly failed to comply with emission control reporting and engine-labeling requirements.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement with Caterpillar last week.

From February 2002 to November 2006, the government says, Caterpillar shipped nearly 600,000 engines, both off-road and on-highway, to more than 50 original equipment manufacturers, that were not equipped with the aftertreatment devices and/or fuel programming software that were present on Cat engines that were certified by EPA.

As a result, says the EPA, the engines emitted excess nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.

In cases where the aftertreatment device was the problem, the table of engines in the legal complaint notes that the aftertreatment devices were shipped separately from the engines.

"Caterpillar denies any wrongdoing, but does agree that the decree represents a good faith effort between the parties to resolve their differences and avoid potentially lengthy litigation," said Cat in a statement. "Caterpillar is committed to following the terms of the decree."

The company also notes that many of the engine in question have already been fixed as part of an earlier recall, reports ENR.

Caterpillar will recall the affected engines and install the correct aftertreatment devices and reprogram the fuel injector and fuel map settings. This recall will continue until all engines with incorrect catalysts, fuel injectors or fuel map settlings have been addressed or until December 31, 2011, whichever is earlier.

In addition to the recall, Caterpillar will mitigate excess emissions through permanent retirement of banked emission credits.

The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. For more information: www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/caa/caterpillarinc11.html


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