Harley-Davidson Reaches $15 Mln Settlement Over Air Pollution Charges

(RTTNews) - The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or EPA announced a settlement with Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG), Harley-Davidson Motor Company Group LLC, Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company Inc. and Harley-Davidson Motor Company Operations Inc., that requires the companies to stop selling and to buy back and destroy illegal devices that increase air pollution from their motorcycles and to sell only models of these devices that are certified to meet Clean Air Act emissions standards.

Harley-Davidson will also pay a $12 million civil penalty and spend $3 million to mitigate air pollution through a project to replace conventional woodstoves with cleaner-burning stoves in local communities.

The government's complaint, filed today along with the settlement, alleged that Harley-Davidson manufactured and sold approximately 340,000 illegal devices, known as "super tuners," that, once installed, caused motorcycles to emit higher amounts of certain air pollutants than what the company certified to EPA. Harley-Davidson also made and sold more than 12,000 motorcycles that were not covered by an EPA certification that ensures a vehicle meets federal clean air standards.

Since January 2008, Harley-Davidson has manufactured and sold two types of tuners, which when hooked up to Harley-Davidson motorcycles, allow users to modify certain aspects of a motorcycles' emissions control system. These modified settings increase power and performance, but also increase the motorcycles' emissions of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides (NOx). These tuners have been sold at Harley-Davidson dealerships across the country.