EPA Rejects Volkswagen’s Proposed Diesel Emissions Fix

Both the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have rejected Volkswagen’s proposed solution to fix its 2.0-liter diesel engines installed with emissions cheating software.

On Tuesday, officials from the two agencies said that plans submitted by Volkswagen weren’t sufficient enough for a technical evaluation to be made. It is claimed that the German conglomerate’s plan didn’t properly address issues revolving around performance, emissions and safety.

No specific details about this plan have been released to the public but it has been confirmed that the marque’s planned solution applied solely to the 2.0-liter diesel not the 3.0-liter diesel also embroiled in the scandal. A separate plan to fix 3.0-liter models will be submitted to the California Air Resources Board and EPA on February 2.

In a statement, a spokesperson from the EPA said: “EPA agrees with CARB that Volkswagen has not submitted an approvable recall plan to bring the vehicles into compliance and reduce pollution. EPA has conveyed this to the company previously.”

CARB chairwoman Mary Nichols commented: “Volkswagen made a decision to cheat on emissions tests and then tried to cover it up. They continued and compounded the lie and when they were caught, they tried to deny it. The result is thousands of tons of nitrogen oxide that have harmed the health of Californians. They need to make it right.”