1999 News Archive

March 19, 1999 - Massachusetts Environmental Affairs Secretary Robert Durand today announced proposed rules for the Massachusetts Enhanced Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Program. The program is a comprehensive plan to reduce air pollution and its impact on the health of Massachusetts residents. The program achieves high environmental yield without the long lines, inconvenience and higher cost of the original, federally mandated inspection system adopted in other states.

Under the program, scheduled to begin in October 1999, automobiles, trucks and buses in Massachusetts will be inspected using an advanced computerized system which will ensure that all vehicles, including diesels, are in compliance with federal clean air requirements.

"We’ve made great strides in improving air quality in Massachusetts over the past decade," said Durand. "The enhanced inspection and maintenance program ensures that we will continue to improve the quality of our air and aid those in the Commonwealth who suffer from heart, lung and respiratory ailments."

Under the current inspection program cars are tested each year for both safety and emissions. The new program will keep the annual safety inspection but requires emissions testing only every two years, with an annual fee of $23. Next week the Cellucci/Swift Administration will file legislation making the entire inspection process biennial, providing a more convenient lower cost program for consumers.

"Emissions from cars, trucks and buses represent more than 40 percent of all ground-level ozone pollutants," said Durand. "The new I/M program represents a giant step forward in reaching the vital goal of achieving and preserving clean air in Massachusetts."

The Commonwealth, after thorough investigation of the best and most innovative technologies, has proposed a program that meets the needs of motorists and the automotive repair industry while at the same time satisfying federal EPA requirements. Emission levels will be measured using a dynamometer, an advanced, computerized testing system.

Under the proposed new regulations, pre-1984 vehicles will not require an emissions inspection, and new cars will not undergo the emissions test for the first two years. Because of these exemptions and other technologies that better identify clean vehicles, up to 40 percent of vehicles may not be subject to enhanced emissions testing.

The safety tests will take about 12 minutes, the dynamometer test will take an additional 12 minutes.

Participating service stations will pay a monthly user fee of $700 for the testing equipment. The fee, which is among the lowest in the nation for this type of program, also supports a new database computer system, free training for inspectors, a consumer and service station hotline to help with questions about the program, and improved station auditing and program oversight.

With stations receiving a 25 percent increase in their share of the sticker fees, between 1,200 and 1,500 service stations are expected to sign up for the program. This compares to the original federal requirement for motorists to have cars inspected at one of 60 government run inspection centers statewide.

The enhanced I/M program is supported by a number of public health, environmental and business groups.

"Health problems associated with air pollution are on the rise. The vehicle emissions inspection program adopted by this state more than a decade ago is outdated. Massachusetts needs the enhanced program to improve the environment and the quality of life for thousands of people who suffer from asthma and other respiratory ailments," said Dr. James Kenney, of the American Lung Association of Massachusetts. "The reduction in ozone formation will greatly benefit the future of our state and our children, and the improvement in diesel fuel emissions will safeguard the health of our senior citizens."

"Everyone -- business, industry and consumers -- has a responsibility to improve air quality," said Brian Gilmore, Director of Public Affairs, Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM). "The enhanced inspection program is a low-cost and convenient way for Massachusetts residents to make an important contribution to cleaner air for all."

Other features of the enhanced I/M program include:

• First time testing of trucks and buses for pollutants.
  

• Creation of a new database to speed transmission of registration and vehicle information between stations and the state.
  

• Motorist and service station hotlines.
  

• Improved auditing and oversight by private contractors.
  

• New training programs for inspectors and repair technicians.

Copies of the regulations will be available on the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) website at http://vehicletest.state.ma.us/regulations.html, or from DEP’s Regional Service Centers in Springfield, Worcester, Wilmington and Lakeville.