This coverage is made possible through a partnership between BPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
As the July 4 festivities approached, a surprising presidential pardon was announced by Donald Trump, absolving a mechanic from Hendersonville, Matthew Sidney Geouge, who had been convicted for violating the Clean Air Act in 2022. Geouge was among 11 individuals, primarily linked to similar environmental breaches, to receive such pardons.
Geouge, the brain behind Spartan Diesel Technologies, was responsible for the creation and distribution of approximately 14,000 devices known as “tuners.” These gadgets allowed Ford diesel trucks to bypass federal emissions guidelines by negating the need for costly components like diesel filters and exhaust gas recirculation systems.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initially notified Geouge of his infractions in 2015, but he disregarded these warnings along with the financial penalties. Furthermore, Geouge had outstanding tax debts owed to the IRS. In 2022, he was sentenced to just over a year in prison, followed by probation.
This pardon aligns with federal deregulatory measures initiated in early 2026. Notably, the EPA’s 2009 endangerment finding, which empowered the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, was revoked. Additionally, the Department of Justice ceased treating cases like Geouge’s as criminal, relegating them to civil offenses instead.
Trump expressed his enthusiasm via his social platform, Truth Social, stating, “It is my Great Honor to have just signed Pardons for six people who were persecuted by the Biden Administration, and were in, or being sent to, prison, for ‘fixing their car.’” Advocates of the pardons argue that the mandatory vehicle emission components are costly and impose a heavy burden on truck users.
However, Andrew Whelan, from CleanAIRE NC, cautioned about the health implications of vehicle emissions, which encompass harmful substances like carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide. These pollutants, according to Whelan, are linked to severe health issues such as asthma and heart disease. He emphasized, “They’re in place to protect public health.”
Whelan praised the air quality improvements in North Carolina since the 2009 Endangerment Finding, but voiced concerns over the federal government’s decision to relinquish regulatory responsibilities to local entities. “The EPA rules are supposed to serve as a national safety floor to protect public health, but by lowering that floor, the federal government is shifting the entire burden onto states and local governments which are often struggling with the resources to adequately respond to these challenges,” he shared with BPR.
Meanwhile, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality assured BPR that their approach to enforcing the Clean Air Act remains unchanged. “The EPA retains authority at the federal level to investigate and enforce potential violations of the Clean Air Act related to motor vehicle engine standards and modifying emissions control devices in vehicles,” Shawn Taylor, spokesperson for the DEQ Air Quality Division, explained in an email, emphasizing that any complaints received are directed to the EPA for further action.
Efforts to contact Geouge for comments were unsuccessful by the time of publication.
