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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA Jasper-based company that Indiana Gov. Mike Braun owned and managed for decades has agreed to pay $7.4 million after running afoul of federal air pollution standards.
Meyer Distributing reached a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency in January over a lawsuit alleging the autoparts supplier sold devices which intentionally violated the federal Clean Air Act.
Meyer Distribution is agreeing to pay the $7.4 million in civil penalties. The EPA settlement also requires Meyer to give $1.2 million for a project to replace a 1976 tugboat with a new, clean tugboat to service ships in the Gulf Coast region.
The federal agency says Meyer sold close to 100,000 aftermarket devices that defeated emissions detection safeguards from 2018 through 2020. The products included plates that block a vehicle’s exhaust gas recirculation system and fitted pipes that replace pollution treatment components in a vehicle’s exhaust system.
The EPA says the largest share of the devices were sold in Texas. Meyer is headquartered in Jasper but has 108 locations around the country, including two distribution centers in Texas.
“Meyer sold tens of thousands of illegal devices that undermine the public health protections provided for in the Clean Air Act. Today’s announcement demonstrates EPA’s commitment to hold companies like Meyer accountable for the harm they cause to our air and health,” said Cecil Rodrigues in a written statement. Rodrigues is acting assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
Meyer Distributing traces its roots to Meyer Body Inc., which was founded in 1937. Braun acquired the company with a partner in 1986 and then took full ownership in 1996. Under his time as CEO, the company expanded significantly.
A spokesperson for Braun declined to comment when contacted by Inside INdiana Business. U.S. Senate financial disclosure forms say 2019 was the most recent year in which Braun earned a salary from Meyer. A disclosure Braun filed to run for Indiana governor shows he owns at least $10,000 in stock for both Meyer Distributing Inc. and Meyer Logistics Inc.
A message left with Meyer Distribution seeking an interview was not immediately returned Tuesday.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Mike Braun acquired the forerunner to Meyer Distributing with a partner in 1986 and then bought it fully in 1996. He was not the company’s founder.
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A man whose company sold devices intended to block or hinder devices designed to cut air pollution is now the governor, charged to follow laws intended to make the environment safer for all Hoosiers. If there were any doubts that he, like the MAGAts in DC, are just here to rape and pillage the economy and our land, they should be dispelled now.
Well said, Timothy S.
Agreed Timothy.
“Braun acquired the company with a partner…” It was his dad. Braun didn’t acquire the company through purchase, it was given to him. Braun is a nepobaby who has never actually built a single thing in his life. And because he’s a nepobaby who has been handed everything to him, he thinks that he is above the law and can just screw people to make a buck. That apparently includes deliberately cheating the government and poisoning people’s air, so they didn’t have to follow air pollution standards. That is so gross.