cleanairact
Latest
Fiat Chrysler settles with US over diesel emissions cheating
Fiat Chrysler is about to pay a stiff penalty for its alleged diesel vehicle emissions cheating. The automaker has reached a settlement with the Justice Department, EPA and California that will see it make amends for claimed violations of the country's Clean Air Act. It's launching a recall to fix the more than 100,000 diesel vehicles believed to be exceeding pollution limits. More importantly, there's a hefty financial punishment. Fiat Chrysler will pay as much as $800 million to address the case, including a combined $311 million in civil penalties, up to $280 million to address claims from owners (who get an average of $2,800 each) and $100 million for post-fix extended warranties.
Tougher emissions rules helped cut US air pollution deaths in half
There's little doubt that air quality has generally improved in the US in recent decades, but quantifying that improvement has been difficult. However, a recently published University of North Carolina study might have produced a more tangible figure. The NASA- and EPA-backed report determined that American deaths from air pollution dropped by 47 percent between 1990 and 2010 to 71,000 per year. The researchers achieved the figures by measuring the levels of two pollutants (ozone and PM2.5) in a 21-year computer simulation and comparing that to CDC data for related causes of death in given regions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ischemic heart disease.
Trump administration reveals plans to roll back vehicle fuel standards
Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it wanted to roll back vehicle efficiency standards put into place by the Obama administration, and today the Trump administration revealed its plan to do so. While the previous policies stated that automakers have until 2025 to get their average fuel efficiencies for passenger vehicles to over 50 miles per gallon, the Trump administration rules would freeze standards after 2021 and average fuel efficiency requirements would then remain around 37 miles per gallon. Further, the plan aims to revoke a waiver that allows California to set its own vehicle efficiency standards.
Trump proposal would end California's tougher car emission standards
It's no secret that the Trump administration is bristling at the Clean Air Act waiver that lets California apply stricter car emissions standards -- the state effectively determines the standards for the rest of the country, negating any federal attempts at rolling back anti-pollution efforts. And the administration has apparently had enough. Bloomberg sources have learned of an imminent proposed standards revision that would strip California of its extra authority. The EPA would suggest revoking California's waiver, while the NHTSA would maintain that California isn't allowed to regulate emissions under the law that established federal-level fuel efficiency requirements.
11 states sue EPA over attempt to reverse ban on ozone-harming HFCs
The Scott Pruitt-era EPA is facing yet more legal action over its attempts at reversing US environmental regulations. A group of 11 states (including New York and California) and the District of Columbia have sued the EPA for violating the Clean Air Act by "effectively" lifting a ban on climate-changing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The states contend that the agency's April "guidance" document illegally removed the entire HFC ban rather than going through the necessary public rulemaking process.
Regulation has helped, not hindered California’s green economy
Earlier this year, California raked in $2.7 trillion gross state product, overtaking the UK as the world's fifth largest economy -- only Germany, Japan, China and the US itself produce more annually. It isn't just our lush farming regions or the technological wonders coming out of Silicon Valley that have made California an economic bellwether, the state's strict adherence to environmental regulations, which go far and above what the rest of the nation demands, have certainly helped as well.
EPA faces lawsuit from 17 states over reversing car emissions rules
The EPA under Scott Pruitt may have dreams of undoing Obama-era car efficiency targets, but it's not going to go unopposed. A group of 17 states, including California and New York, is suing the EPA in DC over its bid to drop clean car emissions standards for model years between 2022 and 2025. The lawsuit accuses the EPA of violating the Clean Air Act, failing to follow its own rules and acting "arbitrarily and capriciously" without evidence to support its decision.
US sues Fiat Chrysler over diesel emissions cheating
Volkswagen definitely won't be the only major automaker hauled into court for cheating on diesel emissions tests in recent years. In the wake of EPA accusations from January, the US Department of Justice has sued Fiat Chrysler for allegedly using a combination of defeat devices and software to trick regulators into thinking its 3.0-liter EcoDiesel engines are... well, eco-friendly. Reportedly, 2014-2016 model year Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles (104,000 in total) violated the Clean Air Act by meeting emissions rules in EPA testing, but spewing "much higher" nitrogen oxide levels in certain everyday driving situations.
Chrysler pulls a VW, cheats emissions tests
The Environmental Protection Agency has just notified Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) that the carmaker has violated the Clean Air Act, alleging that it installed software in some of its diesel vehicles that increased emissions beyond what the company claimed. Specifically, the EPA says that "light-duty model year 2014, 2015 and 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500 trucks with 3.0 liter diesel engines sold in the United States" are releasing excess nitrogen oxide emissions.
Report: FBI arrests Volkswagen executive over Dieselgate
The first Volkswagen executive has been arrested in the "Dieselgate" affair, reports the New York Times. The FBI charged former regulatory compliance chief Oliver Schmidt with conspiracy to defraud the United States, said unnamed law enforcement and company insiders. Schmidt reportedly gave false technical explanations for high emissions levels discovered during 2014 tests and only acknowledged the existence of software "defeat devices" once the scandal broke last September.
