On August 18, 2022, EPA Region 3 filed a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) with Keystone Automotive Operations, Inc. of Exeter, PA, settling 15,621 CAA violations alleged in a July 29, 2021 administrative complaint. The alleged violations were in connection with sales of aftermarket automotive parts that have a principal effect of bypassing, defeating, or rendering inoperative emissions related elements of design installed by original equipment manufacturers on motor vehicles. Keystone will pay a civil penalty of $2.5 million dollars for its alleged unlawful conduct.
When installed on motor vehicles, the 44 types of aftermarket automotive parts sold by Keystone create a potential harm to human health by defeating controls on emissions of particulate matter and ozone which are linked to a number of health effects. Keystone?s illegal sales also create a potential for harm to the regulatory program by removing or rendering inoperative a vehicle or engine?s emission-related elements of design, so they no longer match the configuration certified by the original manufacturer, likely resulting in increased emissions. These vehicles/engines are mobile sources of air pollution that will emit excess emissions wherever they are driven. Based on a recent OECA analysis, around 77% of the defeat devices sold by Keystone are likely to have wound up in or near environmental justice (EJ) areas.
On July 16, 2021, EPA filed a Motion for Partial Accelerated Decision on Liabili