Company and worker accused of violating Clean Air Act

ALBANY, N.Y. ( NEWS10 ) — A grand jury indicted Kyle Offringa, 33, of Caledonia, Michigan, and Highway and Heavy Parts LLC (HHP), a heavy-duty diesel parts supplier, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. It is alleged that they conspired to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The indictment states that between June 5, 2017, and March 27, 2019, Offringa and HHP allegedly conspired with a diesel truck driver and others in Fultonville to remove, delete, and tamper with monitoring devices on heavy-duty diesel trucks. These devices are required by the CAA and the Environmental Protection Agency to be maintained.

It is alleged that truck operators deleted the emissions control hardware on the trucks which significantly increased pollution emissions. This would allow the trucks to run at a higher horsepower, with greater fuel efficiency and reduced maintenance cost.

These actions would violate the regulations enacted by the EPA requiring heavy-duty diesel engine manufacturers to install hardware components limiting engine emissions. Under the CAA, heavy-duty diesel trucks are also required to maintain an onboard diagnostic system (OBD) to monitor the hardware components’ functionality.

Offringa is accused of tampering with these OBDs on trucks so they wouldn’t detect device tampering. The truck owners allegedly paid HHP anywhere from $1,250 to $1,750 for each truck Offringa reprogrammed, who then allegedly received a portion of the payment from HHP.

HHP was arraigned on Friday in Albany. Offringa will be arraigned on Wednesday.

Offringa’s charges could lead to up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and three years of probation if he is found guilty. HHP’s charges could lead to a fine of up to $500,000 and five years of probation if found guilty.

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