Former co-owners of Matanuska Diesel charged with Clean Air Act violations

WASILLA — An Alaskan federal grand jury recently indicted two Wasilla men and their auto shop with charges of conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office, Mackenzie Spurlock, 28, and Brendan Trevors, 26, conspired to remove required air pollution control equipment and tamper with federally mandated monitoring devices on diesel vehicles through their business, Matanuska Diesel LLC from July 2020 to June 2022. This was considered a violation of the Clean Air Act, and the indictment indicated that Spurlock and Trevors performed illegal “deleting” and “tuning.”

According to the press release, removing emission control systems is referred to as “deleting” and reprogramming the on-board diagnostic systems is called “tuning.”

These illegal actions are said to cause substantial increase in pollutants coming from vehicles.

Spurlock, Trevors and Matanuska Diesel LLC are charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, and nine counts of tampering with a Clean Air Act monitoring device, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C).

The defendants will appear in court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kyle F. Reardon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska.

They face a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted, and a federal district court judge will determine sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

According to the press release, U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska announced the indictment, and the EPA Criminal Investigation Alaska Division is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Ivers and EPA Regional Criminal Enforcement Counsel Karla Perrin are the prosecuting attorneys for the case.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com