A Notice of Violation notifies the recipient that EPA believes that it has violated the

Clean Air Act.

Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche installed software on certain diesel vehicles that is
designed to detect when the vehicle is undergoing emissions testing and turns full
emissions controls on only during the test. The effectiveness of emissions control
devices is reduced during all normal driving. This results in cars that meet emissions
standards in the laboratory or testing station, but during normal operation, emit
nitrogen oxides at levels up to 40 times the standard. This software is a "defeat
device" that is prohibited under the Clean Air Act.
On September 18, 2015 EPA issued a Notice of Violation of the Clean Air Act to
Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc (collectively,
Volkswagen). The notice alleges that Volkswagen installed software in its model
year 2009-2015 2.0 liter diesel cars that circumvents EPA emissions standards.
These vehicles emit up to 40 times more pollution than emissions standards allow.
On September 25, 2015, EPA announced that defeat device screening protocols
would be included in compliance oversight programs going forward.
On November 2, 2015 EPA issued a different Notice of Violation of the Clean Air Act
to Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche for producing and selling 3.0 liter diesel cars and
SUVs that include a software device that circumvents EPA emissions standards for
certain air pollutants. These vehicles emit up to nine times more pollution than
emissions standards allow.
On November 19, Volkswagen officials informed EPA that the defeat device has
existed in all of its U.S. 3.0 liter diesel models since 2009.
On January 4, 2016, the Department of Justice filed a complaint on behalf of EPA
against Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Volkswagen
Group of America Chattanooga Operations, LLC, Porsche AG, and Porsche Cars North
America, Inc. for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.
On June 28, 2016 Volkswagen entered into a multi-billion dollar settlement to
partially resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations based on the sale of 2.0 liter diesel
engines that were equipped with software designed to cheat on federal emissions
tests, known as defeat devices.
EPA expects to order Volkswagen, Porsche, and Audi to issue recalls in the future to
reduce the emissions impacts of these vehicles.
EPA and its partners the California Air Resources Board and Environment Canada are
testing all current 2015-2016 light duty diesel vehicles to screen for potential defeat
devices. The agencies will announce the results when testing is complete.
The Volkswagen emissions erupted on 18 September 2015, when the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air
Act to German automaker Volkswagen Group after it was found that Volkswagen had
intentionally programmed turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel engines to
activate certain emissions controls only during laboratory emissions testing. The

programming caused the vehicles' NOx output to meet US standards during

regulatory testing but emit up to 40 times more NOx in real-world driving.[12]
Volkswagen deployed this programming in about eleven million cars worldwide, and
500,000 in the United States, during model years 2009 through 2015.

The findings stemmed from a study on emissions discrepancies between European

and US models of vehicles commissioned in 2014 by the International Council on
Clean Transportation (ICCT), summing up the data from three different sources on
15 vehicles. Among the research groups was a group of five scientists at West
Virginia University, who detected additional emissions during live road tests on two
out of three diesel cars. ICCT also purchased data from two other sources. The new
road testing data and the purchased data were generated using Portable Emissions
Measurement Systems (PEMS) invented by an EPA engineer in 1995

Volkswagen became the target of regulatory investigations in multiple countries,

[20] and Volkswagen's stock price fell in value by a third in the days immediately
after the news. Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned, and the head of
brand development Heinz-Jakob Neusser, Audi research and development head
Ulrich Hackenberg, and Porsche research and development head Wolfgang Hatz
were suspended. Volkswagen announced plans to spend US$7.3 billion (later raised
to 16.2 billion, US$18.32 billion[21]) on rectifying the emissions issues, and
planned to refit the affected vehicles as part of a recall campaign

Works Cited
"Volkswagen Emissions Scandal." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 27
Oct. 2016.
"Learn About Volkswagen Violations." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.
Web. 27 Oct. 2016.