Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Environmental Protection Agency have outlined a settlement with Manitowoc Company Inc., along with subsidiaries, Grove U.S. LLC and Manitowoc Crane Group Germany GMBH, stemming from alleged Clean Air Act (CAA) violations or actions outside compliance with the EPA Transition Program for Equipment Manufacturers regulations. The agencies call for payment of a $42.6 million civil penalty, resolving allegations that the Wisconsin-based manufacturer, over a 2014-2018 window: a) imported and sold heavy cranes with on- or off-highway rated diesel engines that were not certified to meet applicable CAA emission standards; and, b) violated related CAA regulatory requirements which resulted in the release of excess diesel exhaust containing nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. The agreement also settles a December 2024 complaint that DOJ and EPA filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, documenting a schedule of 1,000-plus diesel engines in question.
Beyond the fine, Manitowoc will undertake a project to mitigate alleged harm from those engines’ emissions by retrofitting a short-line locomotive currently in service in the Sparrows Point, Md. area—near the Port of Baltimore where Manitowoc had imported cranes with the suspect power units. The project entails replacing the locomotive’s dated engine, prone to elevated NOx and particulate matter releases along 70 miles of track, with a model running current emissions controls.
“Manitowoc’s sale and importation of cranes with uncertified engines violated Clean Air Act requirements designed to protect public health from harmful diesel emissions,” said DOJ Environment and Natural Resources Division Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim. “This settlement highlights our commitment to holding violators of the Clean Air Act accountable and will result in a tangible reduction in emissions in the Sparrows Point and Port of Baltimore area.”
“For years, Manitowoc imported and sold diesel engines that do not meet Clean Air Act emission standards, even after EPA made clear that such brazen conduct would not be tolerated,” added EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Assistant Administrator David Uhlman. “This settlement once again makes clear that EPA will hold companies accountable when they sell illegal diesel engines.”
