ALEXANDRIA, VA — Grimy Times A Michigan man and his heavy-duty diesel parts supplier company have been indicted for allegedly conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act.
Kyle Offringa, 33, of Caledonia, Michigan, and his company, Highway and Heavy Parts, LLC (HHP), were recently indicted by a grand jury in the Northern District of New York for their alleged role in a conspiracy to tamper with emissions controls on heavy-duty diesel trucks.
The indictment alleges that between June 5, 2017, and March 27, 2019, Offringa and HHP conspired with a diesel truck operator in Fultonville, New York, and others to remove, delete, and tamper with monitoring devices on heavy-duty diesel trucks required to be maintained by the Clean Air Act and Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
Pursuant to the Clean Air Act, the EPA enacted regulations that require heavy-duty diesel engine manufacturers to limit emissions on those engines. To comply with these regulations, manufacturers install hardware components, including filters, exhaust recirculation systems, and exhaust aftertreatment systems. Heavy-duty diesel trucks are also required under the Clean Air Act to maintain an onboard-diagnostic system, which monitors the functionality of the hardware emissions control components.
As alleged in the indictment, truck operators deleted the emissions control hardware on their heavy-duty diesel trucks, which significantly increased pollution emitted by those trucks but allowed them to run at higher horsepower, with greater fuel efficiency, and with reduced maintenance cost. HHP charged its customers a fee for the services of Offringa, who reprogrammed the onboard diagnostic systems on vehicles so they would not detect that the components had been tampered with.
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Offringa is scheduled to be arraigned May 15, while HHP was arraigned Friday in Albany before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel. The charge filed against Offringa carries a maximum term of 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. The charge filed against HHP carries a fine of up to $500,000 and a term of probation of up to 5 years.
The case is being investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigations Division, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police. Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin S. Clark is prosecuting the case.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Environmental Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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