Beginning May 1, Houston and DFW Breathe Cleaner Air; Environmental, Health and Business Groups Announce Support for AirCheckTexas

    AUSTIN, Texas--April 30, 2002--The Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission declared AirCheckTexas, a new clean air program, ready for its May 1 launch.
    The program is expected to reduce more than 66 tons of ozone-forming oxides of nitrogen (NOx) per day in the Houston and Dallas-Ft. Worth areas.
    Also today, the American Lung Association of Texas, the Greater Houston Partnership and the North Texas Clean Air Coalition encouraged residents to support the state's vehicle emissions inspection and repair program to help reduce pollution from 3.9 million motor vehicles.
    Beginning May 1, state law requires vehicles two to 24 years old, registered in Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Denton and Collin Counties, to pass the new high-tech emissions test along with the annual vehicle safety inspection.
    "Our goal is to identify the worst polluting vehicles on the road so drivers can get them repaired," said Texas Public Safety Commission Chairman Colleen McHugh. "When the first vehicle that fails AirCheckTexas is repaired, we will have taken a great stride toward cleaner air."
    TNRCC Chairman Robert J. Huston added, "We need every driver to be certain their vehicle is driving clean." According to the TNRCC, emissions from just one vehicle that fails AirCheckTexas can pollute as much as 28 clean-running cars.
    More than 600 AirCheckTexas inspection lanes in the affected counties will be open for business May 1. Based on equipment sales figures submitted by the three certified testing equipment vendors, an estimated 830 additional inspection lanes are expected to be operating within a few weeks. Technicians from around the country have been brought in to install testing equipment for the growing number of stations that recently joined the program.
    "We're confident we'll have enough stations to meet the demand," said McHugh. "To speed up the testing process, we strongly encourage motorists to avoid waiting until the last week of the month to have their vehicle tested."
    The emissions testing program is part of the state's plan to clean up the air in Texas' most polluted regions, so they will comply with federal health standards of the Clean Air Act. Both cities are considered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be non-attainment for health standards for ozone pollution.
    For more information, call 800/493-5486 or visit www.airchecktexas.com.