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Brunswick, Maine, Car Dealership Agrees to Pay $7,700 for Violations of Clean Air Act

Release Date: 06/05/2000
Contact Information: Amy Miller, EPA Press Office (617-918-1042)

BOSTON - A car dealership and repair shop in Brunswick, Maine, has agreed to pay a $7,700 to settle claims by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the company violated the Clean Air Act by tampering with a vehicle's pollution control devices.

According to a consent agreement and order filed this week, Brunswick Ford Sales removed the core of a burned-out catalytic converter and failed to install a new one, which left the car without adequate pollution controls.

Tampering with emission control devices or changing the original elements of a vehicle's certified emissions configuration and design can result in excess tailpipe emissions of air pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxide.

"Car repair shops, particular those that deal in new cars with efficient pollution control devices, are well aware of the Clean Air Act standards regarding emissions," said Mindy S. Lubber, Regional Administrator for EPA New England. "Brunswick Ford knowingly sent a car onto the road that would add to our nation's air pollution problem. They are now paying a price for that."

Brunswick Ford Sales, located at 157 Pleasant St., is a new and used car dealership with an auto repair facility.

This action stems from a complaint filed by the owner of the vehicle. The owner, who is from Virginia, took the car to Brunswick Ford Sales to be repaired while he was in Maine and then drove back to Williamsburg, Va.