Inspection station gears up for AirCheck emissions testing

JOEY DAUBEN

The Ellis County Press

PALMER - Kenny Caldwell has been working around the clock getting vehicles inspected before today's AirCheck emissions testing start-up.

Caldwell, who owns K&R Service Center in Palmer, has dropped about $40,000 into new equipment mandated by the state for the new AirCheck equipment.

'We could still do auto work [if we didn't upgrade], but wouldn't be able to do inspections,' he said.

The state has implemented many air pollution-control programs in the past, but Caldwell believes the new AirCheck system will stay.

'They [state] guaranteed me five years, and after that, they would pay me [for the equipment],' he said. 'But look at the brown haze up in Dallas…this program should last.'

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has high levels of air pollution, and state and federal statistics have shown the air quality to be poor, one of the reasons Texas has implemented the new emissions program.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the Clean Air Act, has also pressured state lawmakers in passing these regulations.

'We've been inspecting cars since 7 a.m. each morning, just two of us,' Caldwell said, who has owned his shop for six years. 'There's one after another coming in. It's been real busy.'

For more information about the AirCheck emissions system, visit http://www.airchecktexas.com.

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