A panel of officials involved in vehicle emissions testing attended the County Commission meeting Thursday morning to address the concerns of both commission members and citizens about the implementation of the program and the process.

County Commission members said they have received many complaints from their constituents.

Deputy Director of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Quincy Styke said a survey is given to everyone who complies with the process. The results show that 97 percent of participants have found the inspection to be good or excellent, he said.

Since April 2005, Hamilton County began the emissions testing program to avoid nonattainment status by EPA to assure that ozone standards were being met. Mr. Styke said EPA allowed until June 2009 for the program to begin, but “Hamilton County leaders wisely wanted to avoid the negative consequences of nonattainment and opted to begin a vehicle emission-testing program so that the ozone standard would be met earlier than the federal regulations required.”

Some citizens believe that the early attainment was unnecessary. Joe Dumas of Signal Mountain noted that Hamilton County was already in compliance with ozone levels.

Mr. Styke said being listed as nonattainment status is bad for three reasons: 1) “It means the air in your county or neighboring county’s air is not always safe to breathe. The elderly, children and persons with existing respiratory illness are the most at risk.” 2) “It significantly hampers the ability of a source that needs an air pollution control permit to build in the area. Jobs and economic investments in the community can suffer. 3) It restricts the use of federal funds to build transportation projects that can add to air pollution such as a new highway or an additional traffic lane.

Mr. Dumas said he believes “the citizens were sold stories of gloom and doom—no federal highway funds, no ability to attract new industry and so on—but these dire predictions have not come true in Knox County,” which still has a nonattainment status.

Mr. Styke responded that Hamilton County is demonstrating a “vision for the future.” Businesses and manufactures will go places for the best possible price and having attainment helps, he said.

EPA requires that a vehicle owner must go through emission inspection before receiving tags and registration.

Maxine Cousin said she and 84 other community members signed a Title VI complaint about the program. If a person cannot get their registration it affects “whether or not you get to work and if you pay the bills.”

Mr. Styke noted that there is a 30-day extension for a person if their vehicle should fail inspection. However, to qualify vehicle owners must get their cars tested before the registration deadline.

Ms. Cousin said she and others also feel that it is unconstitutional and unfair that diesel trucks and buses are not being tested.

Several people complained that the one-year-old emissions policy obligates vehicle owners to go through inspecting each time a vehicle “switches hands.” “Inspection should be good for a year,” said Fred Harrison, executive director of Tennessee Automobile Dealers Association. Mr. Harrison said the policy costs dealers money.

Mr. Styke said keeping each new registration up to date with inspections allows the maximum credibility with the EPA. “We have to predict that we will reach federal standards and this gives us additional points.” Commissioner Bill Hullander suggested that a sticker be placed on cars signifying passed inspection, but Mr. Styke said registration earns more credit than a sticker would.

Some citizens have complained about the cost of the inspection. The inspection costs $10, but repairs for a failed inspection can cost up to several hundred dollars. “It’s upsetting to fail the test,” said Mr. Syke, but cost waivers, hardship waivers and an explanation of the failure all help.

Mr. Dumas asked if the stricter federal standard for pollution was an “arbitrary decision by EPA.” Mr. Styke said the standard was made more restrictive by creating an eight-hour ozone standard, but the standard was passed by the Supreme Court. “It was a correct decision. It is important to protect the health of citizens."

Mr. Styke said, “We’re trying to improve public outreach,” by helping citizens understand why the emission testing program is important.