Navistar agrees to destroy engines in emissions dispute with EPA

Navistar must pay $52 million and launch an emissions mitigation program in an agreement in a lawsuit alleging the manufacturer sold trucks that were not EPA-compliant.

On Oct. 25, the U.S. federal government and Navistar filed a consent decree that ends a 6-year-old lawsuit. That lawsuit alleges the truck manufacturer illegally sold thousands of on-highway heavy-duty diesel engines that were not compliant with EPA standards.

Part of the agreement is to offset at least 10,000 tons of NOx emissions within four years. To do this, Navistar has agreed to destroy an unspecified number of engines. Referred to as a “diesel engine retirement project,” Navistar will have to “retire” any qualifying engine by “permanent destruction.” According to a news release, Navistar must “purchase and destroy enough older diesel engines to prevent 10,000 tons of future NOx emissions.”

There is an option for the manufacturer to employ other mitigation projects. However, it must seek the approval of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In addition to the mitigation project, Navistar also must forfeit its emission credits earned with its year-end credit report submitted last year. However, it can continue to acquire more credits. The company also has to pay a civil penalty of $52 million.

Navistar lawsuit

According to the complaint, the federal government accused Navistar of selling nearly 8,000 on-highway heavy-duty diesel engines that did not conform to EPA standards. The engines were sold in 2010 after lower emission standards had gone into effect.

In 2001, the EPA adopted stricter NOx emission standards for heavy-duty diesel engines. Manufacturers were required to meet those standards no later than model year 2010 vehicles.

Navistar installed engines on International trucks it claims were model year 2009 engines. However, the lawsuit alleged the engines were actually built in 2010. Consequently, the International trucks with model year 2009 engines were not EPA-compliant since they did not meet the stricter emission standards.

The agreement is not an admission of guilt or wrongdoing for Navistar. In the consent decree, the truck manufacturer denies all allegations.

Navistar has settled for millions of dollars in separate lawsuits claiming issues with exhaust gas recirculation systems in MaxxForce Engines.  LL