The Ellis County Press: AirCheck to begin May 1

AirCheck to begin May 1
================================================================================
Editor on 05/01/2003 00:00:00


JOEY DAUBEN
The Ellis County Press
ELLIS COUNTY - The state's AirCheck auto emissions program goes into effect
today.
The cost of a vehicle inspection will increase from $12.50 to $39.50, because of
the new program. If a vehicle fails the emissions test, it must be repaired
before an inspection sticker is issued.
'We're working around the clock, bringing more inspection lanes online every
day, sometimes every hour,' said Robert Burroughs, head of the Texas Department
of Public Safety's Vehicle Inspection and Emissions program. 'We're optimistic
motorists won't have to worry about long waits to get tested in May.'
'In the first nine months, we tested 2.1 million vehicles registered in [Dallas,
Denton, Tarrant, Collin] counties and
identified 215,000 of the worst pulluting cars,' said Hazel Barbour, mobile
manager for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. 'We expect about 10
percent of the vehicles in Ellis County will fail the test. Getting those
vehicles repaired will have a positive effect on air quality.'
Gas-powered vehicles are the source of 40 percent of the nitrogen oxide
emissions in the region, according to Burroughs.
This conflicts with local environmental groups who say Midlothian cement plants
produce most of the area's pollution.
And recently, the Environmental Protection Agency rolled out new regulations on
farm equipment, such as tractors and other diesel-powered engines; those
mandates, according to the EPA, should reduce emissions by as much as 90
percent.