- President Trump has pardoned nine mechanics and tuners who were convicted of violating emissions rules under the Clean Air Act.
- The move comes amid the Trump administration’s broader pattern of rolling back environmental protections.
- Under the previous Biden administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cracked down on the use of defeat devices to bypass emissions equipment.
Among last Friday’s raft of pardons by President Trump were nine mechanics and tuners facing millions of dollars in fines and potential jail time for violating the Clean Air Act. Convicted of bypassing or otherwise modifying mandated emissions controls on diesel engines, the nine now join a Wyoming-based mechanic who had his felony conviction erased by a presidential pardon in November.
The Clean Air Act was first established in 1963, though it was the 1970 act that had the most effect, with then-President Nixon establishing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). After the nearly no-holds-barred era of horsepower during the 1960s, the stranglehold of so-called smog equipment that was introduced in the 1970s was dimly viewed by most enthusiasts. After all, a Corvette with just 180 horsepower isn’t that exciting.
However, as any long-term resident of Los Angeles might tell you, the emissions rules largely worked. Smog cleared over the City of Angels and elsewhere, and automotive companies soon adapted to the federal government’s emissions requirements. The current Corvette ZR1X is a hybrid with more than 1200 hp, and you wouldn’t catch anyone complaining that it drives like a first-generation Prius.
However, in heavy-duty diesel applications, increasing emissions regulations come with added running costs and also potential power limitations. Eliminating pollution-reducing controls like diesel particulate filters or exhaust gas recirculating systems can free up more hauling power and also cut down on required maintenance. Emissions tampering isn’t legal, but to some, it’s worth the risk.
In previous years, the EPA has been robust in its prosecution of emissions control deletions, particularly for the sellers of equipment like defeat devices. Whether it’s software or hardware designed to cut out the legally required controls, the EPA’s lawyers were ready to bring heavy litigation to bear.
This vigorous defence of EPA regulations is unlikely to continue under the present administration, with current EPA administrator Lee Zeldin having already called for changes like removing limp mode from diesel trucks low on exhaust treatment fluid. The EPA has also announced that it intends to eliminate engine start-stop systems in passenger cars.
Without enforcement, the emissions controls legislated by the Clean Air Act will likely still be followed by manufacturers, but later deleted by those owners and operators who find them onerous. At least for now, the consequences for defeating these controls seem to be on pause.
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.