Recent Vehicle Tampering Decision May Invite Citizen Enforcement for Mobile Source Emissions

Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah held that a nonprofit organization could pursue an aftermarket parts retailer, a parts installer, a related used-vehicle dealer and their officers in a “citizen suit” for alleged violations of both the Clean Air Act (CAA) and Utah’s State Implementation Plan (SIP) for complying with the CAA. In Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment v. Diesel Power Gear, LLC et al., the citizens’ plaintiff group alleged the defendants “modified diesel trucks in violation of emission limit standards, sold parts designed to evade emissions standards, and sold illegally modified trucks.”