BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. — New legislation expected to be proposed in Harrisburg looks to remove Beaver County drivers from the requirement of yearly emissions testing on their vehicles.
Chet Cercone has been in the car repair business in Conway for decades.
He’s worked on thousands of cars, including an inspection and emissions test on Monday.
“Once you get over five years old, they have more of a frequency of failing a check engine light coming on,” Cercone said.
He thinks the emissions testing is a good thing.
“I think Pennsylvania has a great program with the emissions,” Cercone said. “I think they’ve been a pioneer across the country testing cars, maintaining the vehicles, taking a lot of cars that are a major polluters off the road, and they are out there.”
But those emissions tests could soon go away for drivers in Beaver County.
“The emissions systems in these vehicles are incredibly efficient as well,” said State Representative Roman Kozak. “It’s outdated, and we are petitioning the federal government to remove Beaver County from the current non-attainment zone.”
Republican Representatives Kozak and Josh Kail of Beaver County are filing legislation to remove Beaver County from the required emissions test. They say it’s a financial strain, especially when surrounding counties like Lawrence County don’t have the same burden.
An emissions test can cost up to $45 dollars — and waivers? Upwards of $450.
“Everyone’s looking at their bank accounts now, paying their bills, we’re trying to find ways where we can make life more affordable for our constituents,” Kail said.
Channel 11 reached out to the Breathe Project. They sent a statement saying, “The Breathe Project recommends using the common sense notion of ‘do no harm’ by rejecting the planned rollback of emissions testing standards. In this case, ‘doing no harm’ is simple. It means not making any changes at all from current policy. Just leave the situation alone. Our region already suffers from some of the worst air pollution in the United States. Why would anyone want to curb such a beneficial program and perpetuate the harms to our region’s health and reputation? We in the Pittsburgh region need these vehicle standards for a better future for our children, communities, and economic development.”
The lawmakers said the yearly inspections would still uncover needed repairs.
“They still are looking to make sure that there’s not any tampering done on the emissions systems in those vehicles,” Kozak said. “So it’s not like it’s throwing it completely out the window.”
They are also working on legislation that would remove Washington County from this requirement. They expect to introduce these bills soon.
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