Program of the Month
An emissions test is conducted with a treadmill or dynamometer.
Localities in Air Check Virginia
Counties:
Arlington
Fairfax
Loudoun
Prince William
Stafford
Cities:
Alexandria
Fairfax Falls Church
Manassas
Manassas Park
Air Check Virginia
The Air Check Virginia program at the Department of Environmental Quality works to improve air quality by reducing vehicle emissions in Northern Virginia.
“We are looked up to across the nation as a very good, efficient state inspection program,” said Mike Thompson, Air Check Virginia program manager.
Vehicle exhaust emissions contribute to particle pollution and the production of ground level ozone or smog. Reducing vehicle emissions in Northern Virginia is important because some localities in the area do not meet federal standards for ozone and particles.
Air Check Virginia began about 15 years ago to design and oversee a vehicle emissions testing program. Today there are 428 inspection stations with more than 1,400 inspectors and several hundred repair stations with about 830 certified technicians. There are about 1.5 million registered vehicles in the program, which covers 10 localities.
Inspection stations conduct three types of emissions tests: a two-speed idle test, an acceleration simulation mode test and an on-board diagnostic system test. The two-speed idle test and the acceleration test check for hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide in tailpipe emissions, and the acceleration test, which is performed with the vehicle on a dynamometer or treadmill, also checks for nitric oxides. For new cars, inspection stations perform on-board diagnostic tests via a vehicle’s computer. In addition, vehicles are evaluated for required emissions control equipment and for visible smoke. They may also receive additional tests such as a gas cap pressure test to check for fuel vapor leakage.
Once an inspection has been completed, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles downloads the inspection report into its computer system. If the vehicle passes the inspection, which is valid for two years, it is eligible to receive a state registration. A $2 per year fee paid when a driver receives a registration from DMV funds the program.
DEQ has a variety of responsibilities to ensure the program is effective in reducing automotive emissions. Program staff members certify and oversee vehicle inspection and repair stations, investigate complaints, issue notices of violations, negotiate license or permit suspensions and civil charges, and develop training programs for inspectors and technicians. The program also provides technical assistance to inspectors, technicians and the public, handling more than 1,000 calls per month.
Inspecting the stations and emissions testing equipment for compliance is another significant part of Air Check Virginia’s responsibilities. DEQ staff members perform audits during site visits and through undercover work, where staff members submit cars for inspections and then determine if they were done correctly.
“The bottom line is to ensure that people have access to correct inspections in a reasonable amount of time and making sure that wherever they go, they get similar results,” Thompson said.
Inspection and repair facilities that perform well during the audits are eligible for a quarterly award from DEQ. Each award winner is given a letter of appreciation and is recognized on DEQ’s web site as an outstanding facility for consistently conducting accurate tests and repairs.
Air Check Virginia has plans to expand its emission monitoring program by remotely sensing and testing vehicle exhaust as automobiles travel the roadways. The program will set up roadside testing stations with remote sensing systems, which will send a light beam across the road to a detector device. As cars and trucks pass through the beam, the detector will measure the amount of pollutants in the vehicle’s exhaust. In addition, owners of vehicles with exceptionally clean exhausts may be eligible to receive an emission inspection pass that may allow an additional year of registration without the routine emissions inspection.
The remote sensing stations will enhance the effectiveness of Air Check Virginia by helping reduce vehicle emissions out of the normal two-year cycle. The program plans to begin a testing phase of the remote sensing stations in spring 2006.