REMINDER: DEQ Accepting Comments on Revisions to State Plan that Would Remove Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program from 18 Counties

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) is accepting public comments on draft revisions to the Inspection & Maintenance State Implementation Plan.

Public comments are accepted through Sept. 4.

The revisions, if approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, would remove the requirement for vehicle emissions inspections in 18 North Carolina counties and limit the vehicles subject to inspections in Mecklenburg County, the only county that would remain in the program.

In 2023, the General Assembly authorized the removal of 18 counties from the emissions inspection program. These counties are Alamance, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Cumberland, Davidson, Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, New Hanover, Randolph, Rowan, Union and Wake counties.

For Mecklenburg County, Session Law 2023-134 also changed the definition of a vehicle subject to an emissions inspection to a vehicle with a model year within 20 years of the current year and earlier than the 2017 model year.

The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles requires vehicles in all 100 counties to undergo annual safety inspections. The revisions to the emissions inspections would not change the requirement for safety inspections.

Before these changes to the emissions program can be implemented in North Carolina, DAQ must modify its Inspection & Maintenance State Implementation Plan and demonstrate that the state can still meet federal air quality standards with these changes. The legislature required DAQ to complete and submit the revised Plan to EPA by October 3, 2024. EPA would then need to approve the revised Plan prior to the revisions taking effect.

The vehicle emissions inspection program is designed to ensure that air pollution controls on cars and trucks are operating correctly. The program began in 1982 and later was expanded to 48 of 100 counties.

Since then, vehicles and fuels have become much cleaner, and modern vehicles emit far less pollution than older vehicles. The growing adoption of zero-emission vehicles, including electric cars, is further reducing air pollution from the transportation sector.

Also, onboard diagnostic technology (OBD) has improved; these computer systems can detect issues with a car and alert drivers that repairs are needed before an inspection would be due.

While emissions inspections are currently required in 19 counties, DAQ’s technical analysis and modeling found that all North Carolina counties, including Mecklenburg County, are expected to continue to meet federal air quality standards if emissions inspection requirements ended statewide. While DAQ is proposing to remove Mecklenburg County from the Inspection & Maintenance State Implementation Plan along with the other 18 counties, state law will continue to require emissions inspections in Mecklenburg County.

Related documents are posted to the Division’s website. The public is invited to review the Division’s analysis and draft revisions to the State Implementation Plan and submit comments. All comments received by the deadline will be reviewed and considered.

Comments can be made via email to daq.publiccomments@deq.nc.gov (please type “Remove 19 Counties from IM Program” in the subject line) or left via voicemail by calling 919-707-8429. Comments can also be mailed or faxed to:

Randy Strait
NC Division of Air Quality
1641 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC  27699-1641
Fax: 919-707-8721

The Division will not host a public hearing on this topic because no requests to hold a public hearing were received by the Aug. 16 request deadline. More information is in the public notice.

After DAQ submits the revised State Implementation Plan to EPA, the federal agency will have 18 months to review the plan. It would then hold its own public comment period on its decision to either approve or deny the revisions.

Current emissions inspection requirements will remain in place until the approval process is complete and the effective date is announced by the state of North Carolina.

More information about the Inspection & Maintenance Program is on DAQ’s website.