[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 184 (Tuesday, September 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59551-59552]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-20866]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean Air 
Act

    On September 14, 2020, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
consent decree with the United States District Court for the District 
of Columbia in United States v. Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, 
Civil Action No. 1:20-cv-2564.
    The United States filed a complaint under Clean Air Act Sections 
204 and 205, 42 U.S.C. 7523 and 7524, and regulations promulgated under 
Clean Air Act Section 202, 42 U.S.C. 7521, and codified at 40 CFR part 
86, seeking injunctive relief and civil penalties for the Defendants' 
sale of over 250,000 diesel vans and passenger cars that the United 
States contends contain undisclosed auxiliary emission control devices 
and ``defeat devices'' installed in the vehicles' complex emission 
control systems to circumvent emissions testing. The United States 
simultaneously lodged a consent decree that would settle these claims 
and claims in a separate civil complaint filed by the California 
Resources Board (CARB) on the same day.
    Under the proposed decree, the Defendants will have to (1) recall 
and repair, at no cost to consumers, at least 85 percent of the 
affected vans and at least 85 percent of the affected passenger cars to 
remove the defeat devices and bring the vehicles into compliance with 
applicable emissions standards; (2) perform a project to mitigate 
excess nitrogen oxides emitted from the affected vehicles in all states 
except the State of California; (3) pay $110,000 to CARB to fund 
mitigation projects in California; (4) reform corporate compliance 
measures to try to prevent future emissions cheating; and (5) pay an 
$875 million civil penalty. Of this amount, the Defendants must pay 
$743,750,000 to the United States and $131,250,000 to CARB.

[[Page 59552]]

    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the proposed consent decree. Comments should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
and should refer to United States v. Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz USA, 
LLC, D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-2-1-11788. All comments must be submitted no 
later than thirty (30) days after the publication date of this notice. 
Comments may be submitted either by email or by mail:

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         To submit comments:                     Send them to:
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By email............................  [email protected].
By mail.............................  Assistant Attorney General, U.S.
                                       DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611,
                                       Washington, DC 20044-7611.
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    During the public comment period, the proposed consent decree may 
be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. We will provide a paper copy of 
the proposed consent decree upon written request and payment of 
reproduction costs. Please mail your request and payment to: Consent 
Decree Library, U.S. DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044-
7611.
    Please enclose a check or money order for $37.00 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost, excluding appendices) payable to the United States 
Treasury.

Lori Jonas,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2020-20866 Filed 9-21-20; 8:45 am]
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