By Dan Miller
Engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. has reached an agreement in principle with the United States and State of California to pay a $1.675 billion penalty to settle claims it violated the Clean Air Act by installing emissions defeat devices on hundreds of thousands of engines, according to a news release from the U.S. Justice Department.
The Clean Air Act requires vehicle and engine manufacturers to ensure their products comply with applicable emission limits. Defeat devices are parts or software that bypass, defeat, or render inoperative emissions controls such as emission sensors and onboard computers. The company allegedly installed defeat devices on 630,000 model-year 2013 to 2019 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engines. The company also allegedly installed undisclosed auxiliary emission control devices on 330,000 model-year 2019 to 2023 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup truck engines, the Justice Department said in its release.
"Today (Dec. 22, 2023), the Justice Department reached an initial agreement with Cummins Inc. to settle claims that, over the past decade, the company unlawfully altered hundreds of thousands of engines to bypass emissions tests in violation of the Clean Air Act," Attorney General Merrick B. Garland stated in the Justice Department release. "As part of the agreement, the Justice Department will require Cummins to pay $1.675 billion, the largest civil penalty we have ever secured under the Clean Air Act, and the second-largest environmental penalty ever secured."
The types of devices the Justice Department alleges that defeat devices on some Cummins engines have caused them to produce thousands of tons of excess emissions of nitrogen oxides.
ASABE has awarded CLAAS seven product innovation AE50 Awards.
Here are the awards:
-- XERION 12 series tractor. Introduced in summer 2023, the series features a low engine speed concept with two models producing up to 653 horsepower with maximum torque of up to 2,286 lb.-ft at 1,300 rpm.
-- CEMOS for tractors. CEMOS is a self-learning driver assistance and process optimization system that optimizes both the tractor and its attachments. It helps the operator optimize ballasting, tire pressure and engine-transmission management.
-- TRION 740. CLAAS' latest TRION transfers many of the high-capacity functionalities, efficiencies and performance parameters of the LEXION series to a mid-sized model (class-7) that better fits the performance needs and budget of a more traditional family farm.
-- VARIANT net wrap system. The net wrap system used in VARIANT balers uses rubber rollers under the net film roll to allow for adjustable pre-stretching from the comfort of the cab.
-- VARIANT 500 SMART DENSITY. SMART DENSITY controls the two tensioning arms independently of each other. This means that the VARIANT always has the optimal belt tension in all crop conditions and at all driving speeds.
-- Double roller drive for DISCO 3600 FRC. The double roller drive of the CLAAS DISCO 3600 FRC front mower features scissor gear that runs in an oil bath producing the high crop throughput.
-- DISCO 9700 RC AUTO SWATHER. The DISCO 9700 RC AUTO SWATHER is a triple mower with conditioner and merger belts designed for large forage volumes and heavy crops.
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