Donaldson Company, Inc. Settlement 2009
Donaldson Company, Inc. Case Settles for $650,000 Plus $1.5 M in Remediation
Donaldson Company, Inc. paid $650,000 in penalties ($487,500 to the California Air Pollution Control Fund and $162,500 to the California Pollution Control Financing Authority to guarantee loans to off-road vehicle fleets that need to buy exhaust retrofits to comply with the in-use off-road diesel vehicle regulation), for violating air quality regulations. This settlement was reached in September 2009.
An investigation by the Air Resources Board (ARB) showed that Donaldson Company, Inc. failed to comply with the California Vehicle Code (VC) Section 27156, the Aftermarket Parts Regulations and the Verification Procedure by selling and offering for sale in California Verified Diesel Emission Control Strategy (VDECS) for applications that do not meet the duty cycle temperature profile specified in the applicable Executive Order (EO) and by not labeling VDECS properly. VC 27156 (c) prohibits the advertisement or sale of non exempt aftermarket parts. The Verification Procedure sets standards that must be met for a VDECS to be verified by the ARB and places conditions on VDECS as well. The EO identifies the emission reduction level the system is verified to and includes conditions that must be met for the VDECS to function properly. To settle the case, Donaldson Company, Inc. agreed to the $650,000 penalty and to comply with the VC Section 27156, the Aftermarket Parts Regulations, the Verification Procedure and the applicable EO. Donaldson Company, Inc. also agreed to corrective actions requiring replacement of non-conforming VDECS with currently verified VDECS and relabeling of mislabeled VDECS. This remediation will cost Donaldson Company, Inc. over $1.5M.