L.A. firms fined for illegal ATV imports

   Two Los Angeles-based consulting firms, MotorScience Inc. and MotorScience Enterprise Inc., and their owner, Chi Zheng, have agreed to settle alleged Clean Air Act (CAA) violations related to the illegal import of 24,478 all-terrain, recreational vehicles into the United States from China without proper emissions testing, said the Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Air Resources Board on Thursday.
   MotorScience and Zheng have agreed to have a stipulated judgment entered against them for a $3.55 million civil penalty and to pay an additional $60,000 civil penalty within six months. The United States will receive 80 percent of collected penalties, and California will receive the remaining 20 percent.
   “This illegal importation of over 20,000 vehicles evaded federal emission standards, jeopardizing human health,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, in a statement. “Engines operating without proper emissions controls can emit excess carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen which can cause respiratory illnesses, aggravate asthma and contribute to the formation of ground level ozone or smog.”
   The settlement also requires that for the next 15 years, before either MotorScience or Zheng may engage in any further work involving non-road vehicles and engines, they must “follow a rigorous compliance plan” to ensure that any emissions testing and certification applications submitted to EPA or ARB accurately represent those vehicles and engines. Non-road vehicles and engines include recreational vehicles, generators, lawn and garden equipment, and other non-road internal combustion engines.
   MotorScience and Zheng provide consulting services for vehicle manufacturers and others interested in obtaining certificates of conformity from EPA to allow import of their vehicles into the United States. In 2010, EPA voided 12 certificates held by four of the defendants’ clients, who were U.S.-based importers for Chinese recreational vehicle manufacturers. The complaints filed by the United States and California alleged the defendants caused four of their clients to illegally import vehicles under federal certificates and California executive orders that were voided. The complaints further alleged that defendants caused their clients to fail to create and maintain required records on emissions testing.