Reggie
01-12-2009, 10:39 AM
Hundreds of thousands of drivers in Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley will once again have to get their vehicles' emissions checked before renewing their registrations.
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State air-quality regulators are re-implementing the emissions checks after the Front Range violated federal ozone standards in November 2007.
That violation came the same year after the state ended the program in the most populated portions of Larimer and Weld counties.
The emissions-testing program being reintroduced in eastern Larimer County and the Greeley area is more comprehensive than the old system and is identical to the one used in Boulder, Denver and other metro-area counties, said officials with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
There are about 290,000 registered vehicles in the areas covered by the new testing requirements, approved by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission last month. The new tests will begin no later than July 1, 2010.
"It's an effective way to reduce emissions from mobile sources," said Garry Kaufman, program manager for the Mobile Sources Program in CDPHE's Air Pollution Control Division. "It identifies vehicles that are broken, essentially."
Under the program, vehicles of model years 1982 or newer must be tested every two years, for $25. Older vehicles must be tested every year, at a $15 cost. The four newest model years are exempt from the testing, Kaufman said.
Yet, some local residents remain skeptical about the updated requirements.
"I don't know what the current regulations are or how they compare nationally," said Jesse Thompson, a Colorado State University graduate student. "Without knowing how it compares nationally, I don't know how to feel about the new policy."
The testing for most vehicles will be done through a combination of centralized stations and RapidScreen vans. Older vehicles can be tested at repair shops equipped with special equipment.
Kaufman said vehicles that are flagged as failing the standards and then repaired average a 12 percent improvement in fuel economy.<ul><li><a href="http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090112/NEWS01/901120317&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL">The Coloradoan</a></li></ul>
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State air-quality regulators are re-implementing the emissions checks after the Front Range violated federal ozone standards in November 2007.
That violation came the same year after the state ended the program in the most populated portions of Larimer and Weld counties.
The emissions-testing program being reintroduced in eastern Larimer County and the Greeley area is more comprehensive than the old system and is identical to the one used in Boulder, Denver and other metro-area counties, said officials with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
There are about 290,000 registered vehicles in the areas covered by the new testing requirements, approved by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission last month. The new tests will begin no later than July 1, 2010.
"It's an effective way to reduce emissions from mobile sources," said Garry Kaufman, program manager for the Mobile Sources Program in CDPHE's Air Pollution Control Division. "It identifies vehicles that are broken, essentially."
Under the program, vehicles of model years 1982 or newer must be tested every two years, for $25. Older vehicles must be tested every year, at a $15 cost. The four newest model years are exempt from the testing, Kaufman said.
Yet, some local residents remain skeptical about the updated requirements.
"I don't know what the current regulations are or how they compare nationally," said Jesse Thompson, a Colorado State University graduate student. "Without knowing how it compares nationally, I don't know how to feel about the new policy."
The testing for most vehicles will be done through a combination of centralized stations and RapidScreen vans. Older vehicles can be tested at repair shops equipped with special equipment.
Kaufman said vehicles that are flagged as failing the standards and then repaired average a 12 percent improvement in fuel economy.<ul><li><a href="http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090112/NEWS01/901120317&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL">The Coloradoan</a></li></ul>