DOJ ENRD official statement — enforcement discretion, no new criminal charges under the Clean Air Act for tampering with onboard emissions-diagnostic devices (with internal Blanche memorandum reported)

On January 21, 2026 the DOJ Environment and Natural Resources Division publicly stated it is exercising its enforcement discretion to no longer pursue criminal charges under the Clean Air Act for tampering with onboard diagnostic devices in motor vehicles. Reporting seen by CBS News and E&E News/POLITICO describes an accompanying internal memorandum issued by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche directing federal prosecutors to drop pending criminal defeat-device cases and to bring no new ones. This is an enforcement policy change — not a statutory repeal. The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 7413(c), 7522, 7524) remains unchanged; EPA civil enforcement is not automatically terminated; existing convictions are not automatically vacated; existing consent decrees are not automatically terminated.

Repeal relevance: Enforcement policy change — not statutory repeal. Consent decrees, civil penalties, EPA administrative enforcement, and § 306 contracting consequences remain in force. The Blanche memorandum is a charging-policy instruction to DOJ criminal prosecutors; it does not vacate a completed conviction, does not dissolve a consent decree, and does not withdraw an EPA civil claim.

Counterargument: A charging policy is inherently reversible: a later DOJ administration can rescind the memo and resume prosecutions within the applicable statute of limitations. The policy does not restore a defendant's record and does not repeal 42 U.S.C. §§ 7413(c), 7522, or 7524. EPA civil enforcement under 42 U.S.C. § 7524 is expressly preserved.