LEXINGTON, Ky. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached a settlement with Thoroughbred Performance Products of Winchester, Kentucky, also known as Thoroughbred Diesel, in response to EPA claims that the company illegally sold thousands of aftermarket products that disable vehicles’ emissions control systems.
The equipment is commonly called a”defeat device.”
As part of the settlement, Thoroughbred Diesel agreed to stop selling defeat devices and pay a civil penalty of $1,25 million, according to a news release.
“Cracking down on sellers of illegal defeat devices is a top enforcement priority for EPA,” said Acting EPA Region 4 Administrator Jeaneanne Gettle. “These illegal practices contribute to harmful air pollution and impede federal, state, and local efforts to implement air quality standards that protect public health. Emissions from mobile sources play an important role in EPA’s Southeastern region, and the use of these defeat devices hampers our ability to maintain compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.”
Thoroughbred Diesel also agreed to certify that it has stopped selling devices that disable vehicle emission controls and to remove from its webpages and social media accounts all advertisements, photos, videos, and information that relates to performing tampering and/or selling, offering to sell, and/or installing defeat devices.
For more on the EPA’s ongoing efforts to eradicate defeat devices, click here.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
