An Oregon trucking company and its owner have been sentenced to three years of probation for tampering with emission controls on over a dozen trucks.
On Tuesday, Feb. 25, the United States Attorney’s Office District of Oregon announced sentencing for Fairview, Ore.-based Clancy Logistics Inc. and its owner, Timothy Clancy, for violations of the Clean Air Act. In addition to the probation period, U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson ordered Clancy to pay a $101,510 fine.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, between 2019 and 2023, Clancy tampered with the emission control equipment by performing “deletes and tunes” on at least 13 of the semis in his fleet. An investigation was launched following complaints received by the Environmental Protection Agency about Clancy Logistics.
Prosecutors said Clancy utilized programmers in Canada to dismantle emission controls on the trucks both remotely and by shipping emission control monitors to Canada. The trucking company owner also found programmers to do the work locally in Oregon and Washington, according to prosecutors and wrote text messages explaining that he wanted to increase the fuel efficiency of his trucks and decrease diesel exhaust fluid consumption.
In September, Clancy pleaded guilty to tampering with a monitoring device, a felony. As part of that plea agreement, the trucking company must cease operating any of the tampered semis and obtain appropriate certification from a mechanic or dealership showing the trucks have been restored with emission control systems.
Steven Ungar, Clancy’s attorney, argued that his client deleted the trucks’ emission controls to keep his company “solvent and operational, not to generate profits.” According to Unger, the average cost savings each year was at least $2,114 per truck.
“Mr. Clancy is well aware that this conviction is his final warning and any further felonious conduct of any kind will result in far more severe consequences in the future,” Ungar wrote to the court. LL
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