Tadano Group Fined for Selling Dirty Diesel Engines

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The Justice Department announced today that Japan-based Tadano Ltd. and its subsidiaries (Tadano Group) will pay a $40 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it violated Title II of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The Justice Department worked with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the settlement deal, which resolves allegations in a complaint filed with the settlement that Tadano Group imported and sold heavy, non-road cranes with diesel engines not certified to applicable CAA emission standards. The Tadano Group also violated related CAA and regulatory requirements.

“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.”

As part of the proposed consent decree now residing at the United States District Court for The Southern District Of Texas Houston Division, Tadano Group will also contribute $3.2 million towards a project to mitigate harm caused by excess nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions from its non-compliant crane engines. The project will retire a 1975 tugboat and christen a new, cleaner tugboat to service ships in the Port of Port Arthur, Texas. The old tugboat has outdated diesel engines while the new tugboat will have up-to-date, Tier 4 engines, preventing the release of an estimated 2075 tons of NOx emissions and more than 22 tons of PM emissions over 20 years. The Port of Port Arthur is near low-income communities with environmental justice concerns and near the Tadano America Corp. facility in Houston, DOJ said.