Clean Air Act – Prison for Man Disabling Emissions Controls

A man was sentenced today for ongoing violations of  the Clean Air Act through an aftermarket scheme to disable the emissions control systems of diesel trucks. Davis Owens, 34, of Cleves, Ohio was sentenced to serve 30 days in prison, seven months of home confinement and one year of supervised release.

Owens was the co-owner of Holderdown Performance and owner of Cincy Diesel Performance. In 2020, Owens entered a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding allegations that he and Holderdown had knowingly worked to bypass or “defeat” components that controlled emissions on heavy duty diesel truck engines, according to court records.

Owens pled guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the tampering of a monitoring device required under the Clean Air Act. Owens paid a $7500 civil penalty as part of the  original CAFO and agreed that neither he nor Cincy Diesel Performance would manufacture, sell or install defeat devices. He continued to do so until February 2022.

Research has shown that bypassing a vehicle’s emissions components can increase particulate matter 40 times, nitrogen oxides 310 times, carbon monoxide 120 times and non-methane hydrocarbons 1,100 times. (read AutoInformed on: Cummins Diesel Penalties Finalized in $1.675B Settlement)

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio made the announcement. The EPA’s Criminal Enforcement Division and the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations investigated the case. Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted the case.