Despite international initiatives to stave off climate change-inducing carbon emissions from the U.N. this past December, as well as the U.S.'s own federally mandated Clean Air Act, it looks like car manufacturer Volkswagen didn't get either memo — so much so that the U.S. government intends to sue the company for violations.
According to an official statement released by the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protetction Agency, the federal agencies filed a civil complaint in Detroit, Mich., against Volkswagen's North American operations (which include subsidiaries Audi and Porsche) for installing "illegal defeat devices" in more than 600,000 vehicles, all of which were subsequently produced with defective emission control systems in violation of the Clean Air Act's standards.
As per the EPA, even something that seems as globally minute as 600,000 vehicles can have dire consequences, considering that a) greenhouse gases, which contribute to the Earth's atmospheric heat retention, can affect everything from human health to the magnitude of natural disasters, and b) the cars themselves produced the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide at 40 times the Clean Air Act's standard vehicular rate.
"Car manufacturers that fail to properly certify their cars and that defeat emission control systems breach the public trust, endanger public health and disadvantage competitors," stated John C. Cruden, the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
"The United States will pursue all appropriate remedies against Volkswagen to redress the violations of our nation's clean air laws alleged in the complaint," he added.
Additionally, the federal government has also accused Volkswagen of selling, importing, and generally "introducing to commerce" vehicles with designs that vastly differ from those put forward to both the EPA and the California Air Resources Board, which helps monitor clean air protocols within the state.
The legal team working on the case hopes that the complaint and suit will prove to be a watershed event for companies like Volkswagen for violating clean air legistlation — and keep them accountable for their actions.
"With today's filing, we take an important step to protect public health by seeking to hold Volkswagen accountable for any unlawful air pollution, setting us on a path to resolution," said Cynthia Giles, the assistant administrator for the EPA. "So far, recall discussions with the company have not produced an acceptable way forward. These discussions will continue in parallel with the federal court action."
Via: Engadget
Source: Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs
Photo: Paul Chu | Flickr
