As AB 2637 (Cardoza) makes its way through the state Senate, it appears that Bay Area motorists may face some of the more stringent requirements of the enhanced Inspection and Maintenance Program (Smog Check II) rather than the basic program their cars must now pass. The Central Valley has long contended that a significant part of its severe air pollution problem is the result of the transport of Bay Area pollution into the Valley, and that the reduction of tailpipe emissions in Bay Area cars will help mitigate the effects of that increased pollution. Since 1996, Central Valley legislators have been introducing bills requiring enhanced Smog Check II in the Bay Area; AB 2637 is the first such bill with a good chance of passing.
The Smog Check II program was put in place in 1996 as an update to the original 1990 program. It has been undergoing improvements as the technology is developed and implemented.Test results are now electronically transmitted to a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) database.
There are three levels of smog checks, basic, partial enhanced and full enhanced. In areas of the state that meet the national air quality standards, the basic smog check is required only when a vehicle is sold. In any areas that are out of compliance with the national standards, smog checks are required every two years for vehicle license renewal, with enhanced Smog Check II required in areas that have serious, severe, or extreme air pollution problems.
The Bay Area is the only major urban area in the state where a biennial basic Smog Check II program is in effect; all other major urban areas in the state are subject to enhanced Smog Check II. In the Central Valley, cities such as Fresno are subject to the full enhanced Smog Check II, with less urban areas under the partial enhanced program.
The basic smog check requires a 2-speed idle test, while the enhanced smog check uses a dynamometer to simulate a vehicle's emissions while in motion (loaded-mode). The pass/fail cut points for emissions are more stringent for enhanced smog check areas. Under AB 2637, the Bay Area would be subject to partial enhanced Smog Check II, which would include the dynamometer test.
The Bay Area would not be subject to a requirement of the full enhanced Smog Check II program, the Test-only stations. Under this requirement, gross polluters and vehicles with a high emitter profile, based upon the Vehicle Information Database, or certain makes, models and years of vehicles, are directed to Test-only stations by the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), which administers the Smog Check II programs. Vehicle assignment is permanent. The BAR requires that 30 percent of the total cars tested be assigned to Test-only stations and has made a commitment to the EPA to direct 36 percent of the total cars tested in the future. To avoid being directed to Test-only stations, owners may have their cars pre-tested and repaired, and then pass the actual test which is transmitted to the DMV. The Test-only stations also administer the Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) for vehicles that fail their tests. Owners may receive up to $500 for repairs. Financial assistance for low-income car owners whose vehicles fail their smog tests is also available.
The BAR is currently conducting the Gold Shield Pilot program that will allow failed vehicles from Test-only stations to be repaired and tested by updated Gold Shield Test-and-repair stations rather than returning to a Test-only station for retesting. In the Bay Area, Gold Shield CAP stations using BAR-97 Emissions Inspection Systems with dynamometers may participate in the pilot program.
The BAR has also developed and is implementing loaded-mode testing for heavy duty trucks and another program to use remote sensing to identify high-polluting vehicles. In addition, low pressure fuel evaporation testing is being studied. In preparing the Bay Area 2001 Ozone Attainment Plan (OAP) to meet the national 1-hour ozone standard, the three co-lead agencies for air quality planningthe Association of Bay Area Governments, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commissionincluded a mobile source control measure that would add evaporative leak inspection and improved evaporative inspection system testing to the basic Smog Check II program.
The 2001 OAP also included a future study measure to identify and evaluate further improvements in reducing volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions. The BAR is investigating proposed tests to reduce emissions of VOC, and Bay Area planners urge that the more cost-effective tests, especially, be included in the basic Smog Check II as well as the enhanced program.
The future of AB 2637 may rest partially on the results of a study by UC Riverside to determine what effect an enhanced Smog Check II program in the Bay Area would have on ozone levels in the Central Valley. The study, commissioned by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, was scheduled for release at the end of July.
Adelia Sabiston
For more information: Tom Addison, BAAQMD, 415-749-5109; taddison@baaqmd.gov