Colorado mechanic Troy Lake, former and (we hope) future operator of Elite Diesel, was incarcerated by the Biden administration.
The 65-year-old fixed diesel vehicles. Unfortunately for him, he did so by removing EPA-mandated emissions systems that supposedly help keep the air clean. By forcing vehicles to recirculate exhaust, the systems also make it harder for them to function properly.
“I was just trying to help people. And the word got out all over the country that I could do it right.”
One customer was hauling calves when his truck almost caught on fire because of the EPA-mandated system. He removed the filter himself and paid Troy to fine-tune the engine.
Troy has seen school buses unable to move for hours because of problems caused by the filter.
He wasn’t fixing these vehicles “out of malice,” he protests. “I think all of us want cleaner air. [At this cost? No.] But when we’re putting people out of business, there’s got to be a common ground.”
In December 2024, a judge sentenced Troy to 12 months in prison and fined him $52,500 for “conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act.” It could have been worse: up to five years and $250,000.
Now Troy and his friends want President Trump — who has been working to undo some of the worst regulatory impositions of the Obama and Biden years — to pardon Troy so he can get back to his life and business.
How about it, Mr. President?
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
Illustration created by Krea and Firefly
See all recent commentary
(simplified and organized)
See recent popular posts
3 replies on “Free Troy Lake”
Diesels already have very clean exhaust compared to gasoline, albeit foul-smelling. Natural gas and propane, do better. Most folks look at the smoke and assume pollution. But nearly all of the soot in diesel exhaust is just unburned carbon and it falls to the ground quickly.
For some reason, pictures tied to Common Sense articles are not transferring to FB. If you click on the article, you can see the picture and read the article! In the last couple of cases, even the titles are missing after posting to FB.
thanks for the alert! I’ll look into this.