Officials with the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency will meet Sept. 13 at a public meeting in Washington, D.C., to discuss progress made in developing cleaner-burning diesel engines by an Oct. 1, 2002, deadline.
The government and seven engine makers signed consent decrees in October 1998 over alleged cheating on compliance testing. The agreement stipulated that improved engines would be available for model year 2003.
The government said at the last meeting that manufacturers are having problems in building an engine that can operate effectively under real-world conditions. Manufacturers that responded to EPA’s statement denied that was so.
The manufacturers involved are Caterpillar, Volvo, Cummins Inc., Detroit Diesel Corp., Mack Trucks, and Renault Vehicles Industries. International Truck and Engine Co., formerly Navistar, signed its own agreement with the government.
