COLUMBUS, Ind. — Columbus, Indiana-based Cummins Inc. has agreed to pay nearly $1.7 billion to settle claims it violated the Clean Air Act.
The agreement to pay a $1.675 billion penalty was reached in principle with the United States federal government and the State of California. Cummins is alleged to have installed "emissions defeat devices" on hundreds of thousands of engines, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The Clean Air Act requires manufacturers of vehicles and engines to ensure their products comply with emission limits. "Defeat devices are parts or software that bypass, defeat, or render inoperative emissions controls such as emission sensors and onboard computers," the DOJ said in a statement.
Cummins allegedly installed defeat devices on 630,000 model year 2013 to 2019 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engines.
"The company also allegedly installed undisclosed auxiliary emission control devices on 330,000 model year 2019 to 2023 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engines," the DOJ said.
The $1.675 billion penalty would be the largest ever for a Clean Air Act Violation, and the second-largest environmental penalty ever secured by the DOJ.
"The types of devices we allege that Cummins installed in its engines to cheat federal environmental laws have a significant and harmful impact on people’s health and safety," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
In a Friday release about the agreement, Cummins said it does not admit any wrongdoing, noting the company “has seen no evidence that anyone acted in bad faith.”
Cummins added that it “cooperated fully” with regulators. The company also pointed to actions dating back to 2019, including a previous recall of 2019 Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks and now-initiated recall of 2013-2018 Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks.
Cummins said it previously accrued $59 million in estimated costs for these and other related recalls. The company expects an additional charge of about $2.4 billion in 2023’s fourth quarter “to resolve these and other related matters involving approximately one million pick-up truck applications in the United States.”