State regulators are starting to go after violators of a relatively new law that prohibits the sale of used vehicles that have modifications resulting in more air pollution.
An Auburn auto garage could soon be fined $4,000 for selling a used diesel pickup truck with such modifications, marking one of the first cases in which the state law has been enforced.
Passed in 2021, that legislation was meant to help address a pervasive issue in Maine: the dismantling of systems for limiting the air emissions of diesel trucks. Among the pollutants released by those vehicles are nitrous oxide and a particulate matter known as black carbon, which are harmful to human health and the environment.
Despite those harms, many truck owners still remove their emission-control systems to improve the performance of their vehicles — for example, by giving them more torque or fuel economy. That’s particularly the case in Maine, where big, modified pickups are a common sight on rural highways.
Between 2009 and 2019, the federal government estimated that 13.5 percent of diesel vehicles registered in Maine had their emissions controls removed or deactivated, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That rate was lower than in just three other states — Wyoming, Idaho and North Dakota — and tied with Vermont’s.
Across the country, more than 550,000 diesel pickup trucks were estimated to be modified during that same timeframe, resulting in excess nitrous oxide emissions equivalent to what 9 million compliant trucks would have produced.
The federal government has traditionally been the one to go after businesses that tamper with emissions control equipment, in violation of the Clean Air Act.
In recent years, at least two other Maine businesses — Diesel Fuel Systems in Bangor and APlus Truck Sales in Windham — have been forced to pay big federal settlements ranging from $75,000 to $100,000 because they tampered with emission controls.
Now, state officials say that the law passed in 2021 allows them to target dealers of used vehicles that have been similarly altered — although it does not allow them to go after private individuals who make such upgrades without receiving compensation.
One of the first businesses hit with the new law is Greeley’s Garage in Auburn. In October 2021, it allegedly sold a 2016 GMC Sierra 3500HD Denali to a man in Dedham, according to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. The Maine State Police discovered the heavily modified truck just a few days later, when it was impounded in Hermon.
Its particulate filter and catalytic converter had been removed, and cables attached to its oxygen and temperature sensors had been cut, according to Maine DEP. Systems for removing exhaust fluid and gas had been rerouted or disconnected, and the truck’s factory software had been erased and replaced.
The consent agreement did not give the reasons for those modifications, but in general, such changes can increase the power of trucks, improve their fuel economy and reduce maintenance costs, according to the EPA. In some cases, truck owners also modify their vehicles to belch out black or gray exhaust, which is known as “rolling coal.”
Under a consent agreement that must be approved by the Maine Board of Environmental Protection at its March 20 meeting, Greeley’s would pay a $4,000 fine for the violations.
The owner of the Auburn garage, Jeffrey Jordan, signed a copy of the proposed consent agreement in January. Through an attorney, he declined to comment.