SACRAMENTO - The California Air Resources Board today announced that Premier Performance LLC of Rexburg, Idaho, has agreed to a settlement totaling $515,000 to resolve violations of the California Health and Safety Code related to the sales of illegal aftermarket performance parts in California.

Air Resources Board investigators discovered that Premier, a large warehouse distributor of aftermarket and performance automotive parts, sold modifications for pollution controlled vehicles that had not been approved for use by the ARB, in violation of California’s anti-tampering laws.

California law prohibits the marketing or sales of parts that modify emissions control systems of vehicles unless they undergo a formal evaluation of their impact on the emissions control capabilities of the vehicles they were intended for. “Maintaining the integrity of the emissions control systems of vehicles is an important part of California’s clean air efforts,” said ARB Enforcement Chief James Ryden. “We take seriously the obligation to show that products do not reduce the effectiveness of emissions controls prior to their sale in California.” 

California’s emission control system anti-tampering laws include provisions to allow manufacturers to sell aftermarket performance parts once those parts undergo a comprehensive engineering evaluation that ensures that the modifications do not cause excess emissions. Parts successfully completing this process receive an Executive Order exemption that allows their sale and installation on pollution controlled vehicles. 

Premier cooperated with the ARB investigation and promptly halted sales of non-compliant parts in California. The penalty of $386,000 will be paid to the California Air Pollution Control Fund, which supports efforts to decrease air pollution through education and the adoption of cleaner technologies. The remaining $129,000 will go to the Statewide School Bus and Diesel Emission Reduction Supplemental Environmental Project administered by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. The project is designed to retrofit or replace old, dirty diesel school buses operating in California. 

Modified vehicles that no longer meet California's emission control requirements pose a significant health threat to California residents. They create higher amounts of smog-forming pollutants, which can then exacerbate respiratory ailments and negatively affect other health conditions such as shortness of breath, headaches, birth defects, cancer or damage to internal organs.