Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.
Right before the July 4th weekend, Donald Trump pardoned nine mechanics that were convicted for tampering with vehicle pollution controls on heavy-duty vehicles. Each of the mechanics is responsible for violations on anywhere between a dozen and hundreds of thousands of vehicles.
According to E&E News, one North Carolina mechanic sold or installed more than 250,000 illegal emissions-cheating devices between 2014 and 2019. The EPA estimated those devices polluted as much as putting 11 million more vehicles on U.S. roads. He and his company were ordered to pay $10 million in civil and criminal penalties.
Trump has been inaccurately stating that “defeat devices” — designed to bypass emissions control systems during driving — help American drivers save costs. This is not true; instead, the American public will be responsible for the health and environmental costs of severe pollution.
In response to the pardons, Sierra Club Clean Transportation for All Director Katherine García released the following statement:
