U.S. may drop $3 million penalty against Harley
EPA judgment demanded funds be contributed to lung health group
The U.S. Justice Department is expected to announce this week it is dropping a requirement that Harley-Davidson Inc. spend $3 million to reduce air pollution, the news agency Reuters has reported.
Last year, Harley agreed to pay a $12 million civil fine and buy back and destroy thousands of engine devices, known as “super tuners,” that were the subject of an Environmental Protection Agency complaint.
The EPA said Harley manufactured and sold approximately 340,000 of the devices that, once installed, caused motorcycles to emit higher amounts of certain air pollutants than what the company certified with regulators.
In addition to the $12 million fine, the settlement also called for Harley-Davidson to contribute $3 million to an American Lung Association of the Northeast project to retrofit or replace wood stoves with cleaner-burning stoves.
Reuters, citing Washington sources briefed on the matter, said the Justice Department is now expected to drop the $3 million requirement.
Last month, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions barred legal settlements in federal investigations that include donating funds to community organizations or other third-party groups, rather than paying those directly harmed by the wrongdoing or involved in the cases, Reuters reported.
Reuters said the expected reversal marks the first time the Trump administration has rejected part of an Obama administration Justice Department vehicle emissions settlement.
It comes as some members of Congress and conservative legal groups have said the funds in the Harley-Davidson settlement and other cases should go to taxpayers and not an outside group.
Harley-Davidson declined to comment on the report.