EPA Relaxes Smog Check Rules for Northeastern States

07/16/96

The Environmental Protection Agency revised vehicle smog check rules that go into effect in the northeastern states on January 1, 1999. The EPA's action allows for less stringent tests and certification of cars in regions that meet or slightly exceed federal ozone standards.

Under the Clean Air Act, the eleven northeastern states from Maine to Virginia had to develop strategies to cut ozone in the area. The EPA had proposed strict car inspection and maintenance programs across the region. Drivers who didn't want to bring their cars to centralized test facilities mounted a protest that resulted in the EPA's announcement of "special low-enhanced performance tests for the less polluted areas of the region.

The EPA says that 25 metropolitan areas in upstate New York and Pennsylvania, plus Burlington, VT; Portland, ME; and Hagerstown, MD, are eligible to use the lower vehicle inspection standards.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel