The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined the Harley Davidson motorcycle company and ordered it to stop selling a Screamin Eagle “super tuner” devices that emits too much pollution while boosting the bikes power. The American motorcycle manufacturer has agreed to pay a $12 million civil penalty and spend $3 million on an air pollution mitigation project.
The settlement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Harley-Davidson was announced on Thursday. Harley Davidson will also buy back and destroy roughly 3,40,000 illegal Super Tuner devices that it sold.
EPA said the Screamin Eagle “super tuners” make the motorcycles emit unacceptable levels of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides that pollutes the air at a level greater than what is certified by the government.
Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said,
“This settlement immediately stops the sale of illegal aftermarket defeat devices used on public roads that threaten the air we breathe. Harley Davidson is taking important steps to buy back the ‘super tuners’ from their dealers and destroy them, while funding projects to mitigate the pollution they caused.”
Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden, head of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said, “Given Harley Davidson’s prominence in the industry, this is a very significant step toward our goal of stopping the sale of illegal aftermarket defeat devices that cause harmful pollution on our roads and in our communities. Anyone else who manufactures, sells, or installs these types of illegal products should take heed of Harley-Davidson’s corrective actions and immediately stop violating the law.”
