“Rolling coal” by diesel trucks may cost online marketeer eBay $1.9 billion, according to a U.S. Justice Department filing last Wednesday (Sept. 27). The DOJ complaint in federal court in Brooklyn was based on information from the Environmental Protection Agency. The complaint included other eBay merchandise EPA targeted as illegal.
According to DOJ, eBay sold “hundreds of thousands of products in violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA); the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).”
Prominent among the items EPA and DOJ highlighted were sales of more than 343,000 “engine control units” (ECUs), aftermarket equipment that allows owners of diesel vehicles to defeat pollution control equipment on the vehicles.
The equipment allows drivers to, at will, emit billowing clouds of black, oily smoke from their exhaust systems or auxiliary exhaust stacks made for the purpose of blowing smoke. Drivers may also modify the exhaust system by removing the particulate filters. This is known as “rolling coal,” and it has long been a way for some drivers to protest environmental regulations, electric vehicles, cars with bumper stickers supporting environmental groups, protesters, bicyclists, and foreign cars. It has been popular among Trump supporters.
Rolling coal has been around for years. A 2016 New York Times article on rolling coal noted that a popular bumper sticker on coal rolling diesel trucks reads “Prius Repellent.” The headline: “‘Rolling Coal’ in Diesel Trucks, to Rebel and Provoke.”
DOJ said using the devices to blow smoke – a diesel truck driver equivalent of the middle finger – “significantly increase pollution emissions – including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and nonmethane hydrocarbons – that harm public health and impede efforts by the EPA, states, tribes and local agencies to plan for and attain air quality standards.”
According to Reuters, the filing by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York specifies that each Clean Air Act penalty for an illegal sale of an ECU could draw a fine of $5,580.
The complaint also charges that eBay sold at least 23,000 “unregistered, misbranded, and restricted use pesticides” under FIFRA, some of which “were in direct violation of a stop sale order issued to eBay in 2020 and amended in 2021. Examples of the pesticides at issue include a high toxicity insecticide banned in the U.S., a restricted use pesticide that only certified applicators may apply, and a product falsely claiming to protect users against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
DOJ said eBay also sold some 5,600 “products containing methylene chloride for paint and coating removal to prevent unreasonable risks, including the risk of death…in violation of TSCA’s Methylene Chloride Rule.”
In a news release, the California-based e-commerce company said, “The government’s actions are entirely unprecedented and eBay intends to vigorously defend itself…. Indeed, eBay is blocking and removing more than 99.9% of the listings for the products cited by the DOJ, including millions of listings each year. And eBay has partnered closely with law enforcement, including the DOJ, for over two decades on identifying emerging risks and assisting with prevention and enforcement.”
The Clean Air Act makes it illegal to make, sell, or install “a part for a motor vehicle that bypasses, defeats, or renders inoperative any emission control device” and “prohibits anyone from tampering with an emission control device on a motor vehicle by removing it or making it inoperable prior to or after the sale or delivery to the buyer.” In 2020, EPA estimated that 15% of diesel trucks have been tricked out to roll smoke.
According to FindLaw.com, “Only a few states expressly forbid coal rolling, which could leave the impression that most states allow it. But most states also have laws that prohibit drivers from obstructing roadways with excessive exhaust fumes, leaving police officers to make judgment calls. Some states specify the levels of smoke opacity that determine whether a driver is breaking the law. In Colorado, for instance, a violation occurs if someone’s exhaust blocks more than 35% of light.”
–Kennedy Maize
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