Photo KSLTV
SALT LAKE CITY — A U.S.District Judge issued an $850,000 fine against the stars of the Utah-based Discovery Channel show, “The Diesel Brothers,” for violating federal clean air laws hundreds of times.
U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby ruled that David Sparks, Joshua Stuart and Keaton Hoskins violated the Clean Air Act by removing pollution control devices and bypassing emission controls in vehicles.
The original suit, filed in 2017 by Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, or UPHE, named multiple businesses owned by the men, including the Woods Cross-based Diesel Power Gear.
“Illegally stripped down and modified diesel trucks have no place on our roadways,” Dr. Brian Moench, president of the physicians’ organization, said in a prepared statement. “Any business that not only profits from doing that, but glorifies the plumes of pollution that their handiwork produces, should be held accountable, and that’s what this ruling does.”
“Diesel exhaust makes up half of the air pollution from mobile sources in the Wasatch Front and those drivers with tampered diesel trucks are a large part of the problem,” Dr. Kirtly Jones, UPHE board member, said in the statement. “These lawbreakers hurt the health of our families and our community and need to be stopped.”
An attorney for the Diesel Brothers told the Standard-Examiner they were disappointed they couldn’t resolve these issues through a private settlement. The attorney could not yet say whether the show’s stars would appeal the ruling.
“What’s disappointing is that the parties were unable to resolve this through a private settlement, which would have resulted in a lot more of a restorative effort in Utah,” attorney Cole Cannon said. “This order only has approximately 10% of the money staying in Utah. The other gets sent to Washington, D.C., and we all know how useful that’s going to be.”
A full list of the fines against the companies can be found at KSL.com.
More reporting:
Federal judge rules Diesel Brothers violated Clean Air Act
Utah lawmakers unveil clean air bills tackling cars and houses