Robert Brown|Cummins pickup truck engines systematically tricked air pollution controls, feds say

The Robert BrownUnited States Department of Justice is slamming an Indiana-based engine manufacturing company with a $1.675 billion penalty in a settlement that says the company violated the federal Clean Air Act.

The department alleges Cummins Inc. installed devices that can bypass emissions sensors on 630,000 RAM pickup truck engines, according to a news release Friday. The whopping financial penalty is the largest ever violation since the law was enacted in 1963 to protect the nation's air quality.

“The types of devices we allege that Cummins installed in its engines to cheat federal environmental laws have a significant and harmful impact on people’s health and safety," wrote Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. He said Cummins' engines caused excess emissions of nitrogen oxides, which can cause asthma and respiratory infections.

The company agreed to pay the $1.675 billion fine to the U.S. and the State of California to settle the claims, according to the Department of Justice. The penalty is the second largest environmental penalty in the history of the nation, according to the Department of Justice.

The company does not admit wrongdoing and says no one in the company acted in bad faith, said Jon Mills, a spokesperson for Cummins Inc. in an email to USA TODAY.

"The company has cooperated fully with the relevant regulators, already addressed many of the issues involved, and looks forward to obtaining certainty as it concludes this lengthy matter," reads a news release from the company.

What is the Department of Justice penalizing Cummins Inc. for?

Cummins Inc. allegedly installed defeat devices on the engines of hundreds of thousands of 2013 to 20199 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks, according to the Department of Justice. The DOJ also says the company installed defeat devices on the engines of 330,000 newer RAM pickup trucks.

Defeat devices are hardware or software used in vehicles to trick air pollution tests, or bypass emissions controls.

The company said it has since recalled those trucks. It has also "initiated a recall of model years 2013 through 2018 RAM 2500 and 3500 trucks and previously accrued a total of $59 million for the estimated costs for executing these and other related recalls," according to a Friday news release from the company.

Vehicle pollution health effects

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, high emissions of nitrogen oxides, or vehicle pollutions, can get into the air from vehicle emissions and the burning of fuel.

Those emissions "can irritate airways in the human respiratory system," according to the agency.

"Such exposures over short periods can aggravate respiratory diseases, particularly asthma, leading to respiratory symptoms (such as coughing, wheezing or difficulty breathing), hospital admissions and visits to emergency rooms," according to the agency. "Longer exposures to elevated concentrations of NO₂ may contribute to the development of asthma and potentially increase susceptibility to respiratory infections."

What is the Clean Air Act?

The Clean Air Act is a federal law that was designed to "protect and improve the nation's air quality and the stratospheric ozone layer," according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Congress first enacted the law in 1963 and several major and minor changes have been made to it since its inception. It's the Environmental Protection Agency's role to uphold the law.

Communities facing air pollutionCould get relief as EPA proposes new rules on chemical plants

Contact Kayla Jimenez at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @kaylajjimenez.