Manitowoc Company Clean Air Act Settlement Summary

On December 19, 2024 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Justice announced a settlement agreement with Manitowoc Company, Inc., a diesel mobile crane manufacturer,  two of its subsidiaries Grove U.S. L.L.C., and Manitowoc Crane Group Germany GMBH (collectively, “Manitowoc”), for violations of the Clean Air Act’s mobile sources regulations related to the sale of cranes with non-certified diesel engines. Manitowoc will pay a $42.6 million civil penalty and implement a project to retrofit a locomotive operating in the Sparrows Point area of Baltimore, MD. The locomotive has an unregulated 1750kw engine that will be replaced with an engine that meets the Clean Air Act emission standards. 

The settlement resolves allegations that Manitowoc imported and sold cranes with diesel engines that were not certified to applicable CAA emission standards, and that Manitowoc violated related Clean Air Act and regulatory requirements, resulting in the release of excess carcinogenic diesel exhaust containing nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter. 

• Overview of Manitowoc Company, Inc.
• Summary of the Violations
• Summary of Environmental and Health Impacts
• Overview of Consent Decree
• Comment Period
• Contact Information

Overview of Manitowoc Company, Inc.

The Manitowoc Company, Inc., and two of its subsidiaries Grove U.S. L.L.C., and Manitowoc Crane Group Germany GMBH (collectively, “Manitowoc”), is a privately-owned manufacturer which produces cranes and heavy nonroad construction equipment containing diesel engines for sale across the United States. Manitowoc is registered to do business in Pennsylvania, and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  

Summary of the Violations

Between 2014 and 2018, the EPA alleges that Manitowoc sold cranes with at least 1,032 diesel engines that violated the CAA because the engines were not covered by current EPA-issued certificates of conformity, nor did the engines qualify for a limited exemption under the EPA’s Transition Program for Equipment Manufacturers. Manitowoc also did no comply with CAA reporting, bonding, and fuel inlet labelling requirements. 

Summary of Environmental and Health Impacts

Overview of Consent Decree

Under the consent decree, Manitowoc will pay a $42.6 million penalty and complete a train engine retrofit project that will reduce NOx and particulate matter emissions in the area where the violations occurred. 

Specifically, Manitowoc is required to retrofit a short-line locomotive currently in service in the Sparrows Point, MD, a location near the Port of Baltimore, MD where Manitowoc imported the illegal cranes. The pathway of the 70 miles of track includes areas with underserved and overburdened communities. The reduction of harmful emissions from the existing locomotive is expected to benefit the areas along the pathway.  

If Manitowoc is unable to complete the Mitigation Project within the time required, or wishes to undertake a different project, then it must seek to modify the consent decree or select, subject to EPA approval, one or more other equivalent projects.

Comment Period

The proposed settlement, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. Information on providing public comment, and the complaint and proposed consent decree are available on the  DOJ's Proposed Consent Decree webpage. 

Contact Information

For more information, please contact: 

Mark Palermo, Associate Regional Counsel 
Air Enforcement Division 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2242A) 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. 
Washington, DC 20460 
palermo.mark@epa.gov