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Tuesday, December 01, 2015

Hogan Administration pursues penalties, repairs from Volkswagen

 
Baltimore, MD – The Hogan Administration announced today its intention to seek penalties and correctives actions from automaker Volkswagen for installing devices that allowed thousands of vehicles to pollute Maryland’s air at up to 40 times the federal emissions standard.

Maryland intends to join with other states in asserting environmental enforcement claims against Volkswagen and pursuing joint settlement negotiations to require the carmaker to take corrective actions and pay financial penalties. Volkswagen has admitted to installing software known as “defeat devices” to circumvent emissions standards. Such action violates Maryland law.

“Maryland is working hard to cut smog from power plants in Maryland and from upwind states – and from the cars and trucks that travel our roads,” said Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles. “We will work to make sure that Volkswagen cleans up its act.”

In September, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Notice of Violation of the Clean Air Act to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. That Notice alleges that four-cylinder Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars from model years 2009-2015 include software that circumvents emissions standards for pollutants. Those defeat devices allow cars to meet emissions standards in a laboratory or a testing station, but during normal operation those vehicles emit nitrogen oxides at up to 40 times federal standards. Nitrogen oxides, or NOx, contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, or smog.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lol. My 2014 vw tdi gets 48 mpg and I'll be keeping it that way. On the other hand my duramax diesel pickup smokes like a freight train and gets 14 mpg. And how is it that the vw is oh so terrible for the environment?

Anonymous said...

9:39 - they lied to the dumbocrats - they can't do that - only the dumbocrats are allowed to get away with lying...the guys that built the duramax are not claiming 20 mpg and low emissions.....

Anonymous said...

I doubt there will be lines of people waiting to have their VW's de-tuned. Except maybe paranoid oldi people and the insufferably anal retentive.

Anonymous said...

Mine smells like french fries at stop lights when i put used fryer oil in it.

Anonymous said...

Read Eric Peters Autos site and you'll stay away from de-tuning it at the dealer! Something that goes twice as far on the same fuel is just plain polluting less!