Don’t do this—a lesson for 2024.
It has come to our attention that the owner of a truck shop in North Bend, Ohio, has been charged with removing emission control devices from diesel vehicles in contravention of the US Clean Air Act.
Diesel trucks have emission control devices that reduce the harmful GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions expelled from the vehicles, such as hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen.
The devices remove the GHG emissions from the exhaust stream—from the engine, crankcase, fuel tank, and carburetor—before they are released into the atmosphere, helping to keep our environment that much cleaner and providing some relief to the air we human beings breathe.
But David Owens, 33, of Cleves, Ohio, understood that—environment and human health be damned—removing the emission control devices from trucks would create performance improvements in the trucks, such as an increase in torque and horsepower and an improvement in fuel economy.
Owens was first caught in 2020 when it was alleged that he or his company had engaged in knowingly removing or rendering inoperative emission control devices on diesel trucks. He was not charged at that time; he entered into a consent agreement with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regarding these allegations.
Despite not being charged, one would expect that Owens would be on the EPA’s radar to ensure no further infractions took place.
As a possible way around the EPA’s watching eyes, Owens changed the name of his diesel shop but maintained the same address in North Bend.
At the newly named shop—Cincy Diesel—Owens again began removing or rendering inoperable numerous emission control devices, per the US Department of Justice, and was caught in late November 2023.
Owens pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the tampering with a monitoring device required under the Clean Air Act.
He will be sentenced at a future date. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.