Emission inspection programs

Evaluating Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Programs (2001) Compensating for Wetland Losses Under the Clean Water Act (2001)... 

Just as the Clean Water Act has improved water quality in the United States, the Clean Air Act has greatly improved air quality since it was passed in 1967 and amended several times after. States and municipalities must meet the NAAQS or face the loss of federal dollars for road projects. Programs such as vehicle emission inspections, reduction in speed limits, emission permitting, alternative fuels, and use of best available technology have served to clean the nation s air. 

Evaluating Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Programs... 

The CTG document recommends a single volatile organic compound (VOC) emission limit for loading of gasoline tank trucks at terminals. To comply with the limit, an active vapor control system must be installed to condense, absorb, adsorb, or incinerate the VOC vapors. Control equipment to fulfill this requirement is presently commercially available. However, a good maintenance and inspection program must minimize leakage from the vapor control system and tank trucks. 

Harrington, W and V. McConnell, Modeling In-Use Vehicle Emissions and the Effects of Inspection and Maintenance Programs, J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc., 44, 791-799 (1994). 

Lawson, D. R., P. J. Groblicki, D. H. Stedman, G. A. Bishop, and P. L. Guenther, Emissions from In-Use Motor Vehicles in Los Angeles A Pilot Study of Remote Sensing and the Inspection and Maintenance Program, J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc., 40, 1096-1105 (1990). 

The EPA has proposed an enhanced IM program that would require a dynamometer test under varying engine loads, would test evaporative emissions, and would raise the repair cost limit substantially. The enhanced IM program still has some serious defects. Most notably, it lacks the necessary components of significant on-road, in situ, remote sensing to validate the emission reductions and to catch cars that have been tampered with between inspections. 

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