Chinese engines

The US Department of Justice has filed a civil complaint against PowerTrain, Wood Sales and Tool Mart, alleging that they imported and sold more than 78,000 Chinese-made engines that did not meet US federal air-pollution standards.

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Washington DC, is part of an ongoing effort by the department to ensure that imported non-road engines and equipment comply with the US Clean Air Act’s emissions standards.

The complaint alleges that the non-road engines imported and sold by Powertrain, Wood Sales and Tool Mart from September 2002 through to at least May 2007 were not certified to meet applicable emissions standards.

The Clean Air Act prohibits any non-road engine from being imported and sold in the US unless covered by a 'certificate of conformity' indicating that the engine meets applicable emissions standards.

The complaint also alleges that the companies failed to: provide buyers with the full emission-system warranty required by the Clean Air Act for all of the non-road engines that were sold, to install proper emission-compliance labels on many of the engines and to fully respond to EPA’s requests for administrative information.

The complaint, filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), seeks civil penalties as well as actions by the companies to remedy the violations and to mitigate any excess pollutant emissions caused by the violations.

The EPA estimates the engines have contributed to excess emissions of more than 150 tons of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides and more than 5,000 tons of carbon monoxide.