The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Japan-based Tadano Ltd. and its subsidiaries – known collectively as the Tadano Group – will pay a $40 million civil penalty and contribute an additional $3.2 million to reduce diesel emissions to resolve allegations that it violated Title II of the Clean Air Act (CAA). EPA and the Justice Department worked together to negotiate the settlement, which resolves allegations that Tadano Group imported and sold nonroad cranes with diesel engines not certified to applicable CAA emission standards, and that Tadano Group violated related CAA and regulatory requirements, resulting in the release of excess carcinogenic diesel exhaust containing nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM).
“Diesel exhaust is one of the dirtiest forms of pollution,” said Assistant Administrator David M. Uhlmann for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Exposure to diesel exhaust is linked to serious health conditions, including asthma and respiratory illness, and those health risks are increased by engines that fail to meet emission standards. This settlement should send a clear message that EPA will continue to vigorously enforce against companies that sell illegal diesel engines, including nonroad engines.”
“Tadano Group imported and sold giant cranes with engines that didn’t carry valid EPA certificates of conformity, flouting federal law that protects the public from harmful emissions,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This settlement holds Tadano accountable for its violations and requires completion of a project that will improve the quality of life for those living in the Port Arthur, Texas area.”
Tadano Group will also spend $3.2 million on a project to mitigate the harm caused by excess NOx and PM emissions from its noncompliant crane engines by retiring and replacing a 1975 tugboat with a new, cleaner tugboat to service ships in the Port of Port Arthur, Texas. The old tugboat has outdated diesel engines which release unnecessary pollution near low-income communities with environmental justice concerns. The new tugboat will have up-to-date, Tier 4 engines, preventing the release of an estimated 2,075 tons of NOx emissions and more than 22 tons of PM emissions over 20 years. The Port of Port Arthur is near the Tadano America Corp. facility in Houston, TX.
The complaint against Tadano Group alleges that, between 2011 and 2017, Tadano sold nonroad cranes with at least 269 diesel engines that violated the CAA because the engines were not covered by current EPA-issued certificates of conformity, nor did the engines qualify for a limited exemption under EPA’s Transition Program for Equipment Manufacturers. The Tadano Group also did not comply with CAA reporting, bonding, and fuel inlet labelling requirements. The Tadano Group includes Germany-based Tadano Faun GmbH, Tennessee-based Tadano Mantis Corp. and Texas-based Tadano America Corp.
The Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Enforcement Section filed the complaint and lodged the proposed consent decree on behalf of the EPA in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The settlement is subject to a public comment period and final court approval.
