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Emissions Testing Finally Comes to the Valley...Sort Of
Beginning Jan. 1, 2004, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) implemented federally mandated vehicle emissions inspections in Berks, Lehigh, and Northampton counties. The new test was a result of lawsuits by Citizens For Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture) and the Clean Air Council, which sued the Commonwealth over its slow progress in implementing auto emissions inspection procedures mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In May of last year, PennDot and the DEP settled out of court, agreeing to implement the current program.
The new emissions program, however, is not ideal. The emissions test includes a check of the On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) system. OBD systems monitor the performance of ignition, fuel metering, and emissions systems.
Although this test will certainly help keep high-polluting cars with OBD systems off the roads, it does not address the biggest polluters of all-cars build before 1996 that do not have OBD systems installed. For these older cars, the test involves merely looking to see if the car contains a catalytic converter and other devices, not testing to see if these devices are actually operating properly.
During the 1980s, the Lehigh Valley region conducted tailpipe emissions on all cars. This simple $8 test used a probe to collect exhaust from the car's tailpipe and measure pollutants. Unfortunately, this test was abandoned in 1999.
State officials claim the new emissions testing in the Lehigh Valley will help bring ozone levels into compliance with federal guidelines. The Environmental Protection Agency has identified Lehigh, Carbon, and Northampton counties as "non attainment" areas, which means air pollution, most notably ozone, in these counties exceeds limits set by the Clean Air Act. Created when exhaust from cars and trucks interacts with sunlight, ozone is a respiratory irritant that aggravates and may even cause asthma. Ozone has also been implicated in heart attacks and cancer.
State officials say emissions testing in Pittsburgh helped bring ozone levels under control in that city. However, the emissions testing program in that city includes tailpipe testing on all cars. It's a more comprehensive system than the one starting up in the Lehigh Valley.
State officials have said they did not reinstate tailpipe testing for older cars here because such a move would require mechanics to purchase equipment that would soon become obsolete as the fleet of 1996 older cars shrinks. Although the new testing is far from ideal, it is a step in the right direction. Whether it will be enough, however, to bring ozone levels under control in the Valley remains to be seen.
Shop Around
Cost for the new emissions test varies, ranging from $28 to $45. You can find a list of certified emissions inspection stations and their fees at the Drive Clean PA Website www.drivecleanpa.state.pa.us.
