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Mack Files Federal Complaint Against EPA

16 June 1998

Mack Files Federal Complaint Against EPA

    LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., June 15 -- Threatened with EPA actions
that could have a severe and long-lasting impact on employment and its
competitive position, Mack Trucks, Inc. today sought federal court protection
and a declaration that the company has not violated the Clean Air Act.
    Filed in the U.S. District Court's Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the
complaint states that the EPA wrongfully asserts that certain of Mack's
engines, which pass EPA's own test for measuring compliance with emissions
levels, are designed to operate differently on the road than they do during
the test.  Based on this incorrect assertion, the EPA is now proposing
unwarranted penalties that would cause massive and irreparable injury to the
company.
    "Mack has always worked cooperatively with the EPA to reduce engine
emissions, and we're very proud of the strides we've made," said Mack
Executive Vice President and General Counsel Terrence C. Grube.  "If the
agency would like to change emissions standards or testing procedures in the
future, we'd be happy to help in that process -- but we refuse to sit still in
the face of assertions that we have ever violated the law."
    Mack and the other major diesel engine manufacturers have continuously
improved the emissions performance of their products.  Over the past 20 years,
the manufacturers have reduced regulated nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by
more than 70 percent and lowered particulate emissions by 90 percent.
Further, the industry and the EPA cooperatively reached a voluntary agreement
to reduce urban NOx emissions another 50 percent by 2004.
    The Mack complaint points out that the company's engines have consistently
passed federal emissions tests and have consistently been certified by the
EPA.  Furthermore, it points out that the injection timing system now targeted
by EPA (versions of which are used by every heavy-duty engine manufacturer)
has been known to that agency for several years.  Prior to conversations the
agency initiated with the heavy-duty engine industry about six months ago, the
EPA has never indicated in any way that the use of these systems might be
unlawful.
    The complaint emphasizes that Mack's engines are not altered in any way
after testing -- that is, they operate on the road in the same fashion as they
do during the federal test.
    Mack has asked the court to declare that its injection timing system does
not constitute an illegal "defeat device"; to prohibit the EPA from revoking
its current certificates of conformity or denying those certificates for the
1999 model year; and to prevent the agency from seeking or assessing any
penalties against Mack.