Air Care News
January 2000
Clean screening to
make debut in Colorado
by Christopher Dann
 The new millennium brings with it a new style of vehicle emissions testing for two of
Colorado's Front Range counties.
Remote sensing van measures emissions from
passing vehicles.
The State of Colorado will introduce the nation's first
"clean screen" emissions testing program early this
year, with as much as 35 percent
of the fleet in the Basic testing areas of Larimer and Weld counties being exempted from a two-speed idle
emissions test if roadside sensors show their emissions to be within guidelines. Communities participating
in the ground-breaking program include Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland.
Colorado will use remote sensing technology to gauge emissions
from vehicles as they drive past roadside equipment. Remote sensing utilizes infrared light and lasers
to determine the amount of pollutants in a vehicle's emissions plume as it passes by the equipment
during a typical driving cycle. A snapshot of the license plate is taken for comparison to registration
records.
If within a year of registration renewal a vehicle is shown to be
"clean" by the roadside testing equipment two consecutive times (the last reading must be
within 90 days of renewal), a letter will be sent to the registered owner informing them that they may
opt out of the two-speed idle emissions test and complete the registration process using the remote
sensor readings as proof that emissions are within standards.
Motorists then will be able to send in a check for the remote
sensing testing fee (comparable to the typical fee for a Basic test), complete the registration process
and get new license plate tags without bringing their vehicle to an emissions testing facility.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE)
has studied the effectiveness of remote sensing extensively in Greeley and the the Denver metropolitan
area and has deemed it ready for integration into testing programs in Basic areas only.
The department already has begun outreach efforts in the affected
communities. The focus has been on the repair industry (which is allowed to conduct emissions test in
the Basic areas) since that industry will be affected most by the introduction of the "clean
screen" program.
State officials believe that, although emissions repair revenue
for repair shops will drop if a portion of the vehicle fleet is exempt from testing, the losses will be
offset by the additional routine maintenance motorists will seek to increase their chances of a clean
roadside test.
For more information on remote sensing and the "clean screen
" program, contact Gary Cagle at the Air Pollution Control Division, (303) 692-3125.
Christopher Dann is the public information
officer for the Air Pollution Control Division at the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment.
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"W" stands for
waiver
by Tom Myrsiades
You may have noticed them while walking through the parking lot or
driving down the street: a large black "W" on a vehicle's emissions sticker. This indicates the
Department of Revenue issued a waiver to that vehicle. Essentially this vehicle will not pass an emissions
test but will be registered and allowed to operate on our roads for two more years. For the obvious air
quality reasons, waivers are not issued without close screening.
The Department of Revenue receives an average of 105 enhanced
area waiver requests every month and grants some 47 waivers on average.
That means 55 percent of all waiver requests are denied. Most
people are aware of the $450 repair requirement; however, we still seem to receive requests that are
way off base when it comes to meeting the requirements. Hopefully, this article will help clarify the
process.
Our staff routinely receives waiver requests for vehicles that
have not met requirements--like the man who called our office in a panic because his plates were going
to expire in a few days. His truck had failed the test and his mechanic had given him a $950 estimate
to repair the vehicle. "Why won't you waive my truck?" he asked.
"I'm going to spend more than the $450 on my vehicle after I
get my sticker," he insisted.
We explained the process for him and arranged to provide a
temporary license plate allowing him to drive the truck during the process of getting his vehicle
repaired and applying for a waiver.
On Oct. 1 we received a distressing call from a lady who had
failed the emissions test and could not believe we would not apply the $750 she had spent in September
on new tires and brakes toward a waiver. Her plates were already expired and she could not legally
drive the vehicle. Again, our office helped her through the process in which her vehicle was repaired
at a cost of $125, enabling the vehicle to actually pass.
When our field people find that at least $450 has in fact been
spent, yet the vehicle still fails the test with no improvements or with even higher readings, the
waiver request may still be denied. The owner is then instructed to return to the repair facility and
have the repairs reviewed. The repairs may not have been properly performed, may not have been
performed at all, or the vehicle may still fail due to missing emissions control components overlooked
during inspection. In many cases these vehicles are then repaired correctly and actually pass the
retest.
When performing emissions repairs on a vehicle that may require a
waiver, review the following requirements prior to referring the customer to the Department of Revenue:
 The
vehicle must pass all visual inspection items, when applicable, to include catalytic converter, fuel
cap, fuel inlet restrictor, air injection system, oxygen sensor, check engine light and visible smoke.
Waivers may be granted only to vehicles that have failed tailpipe limits, received $450 in proper
failure-related repairs, passed all visual inspection items, and then failed the retest after repairs
have been performed.
Our staff carefully reviews every waiver request, verifying all
repairs made (including home repairs as long as the receipts are equal to or greater than $450 for
failure-related repairs and parts).
Remember, a waiver allows a grossly polluting vehicle to be
registered and driven in our state for two more years (or one more year if it's a 1981 or older model).
For additional information, please contact the Department of
Revenue at:
Department of Revenue
Emissions Programs
Room 128
1881 Pierce Street
Lakewood, CO 80261
(303) 205-5603
Tom Myrsiades is an emissions compliance
supervisor at the Colorado Department of Revenue.
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CO levels in
Denver exceed pollution standards for first time since 1995
by Christopher Dann
Carbon monoxide levels in the Denver metropolitan area exceeded
federal health-based air pollution standards Tuesday, November 30, for the first time in nearly four
years, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment officials said.
Preliminary readings from an air pollution monitor maintained by
the department's Air Pollution Control Division near the intersection of Speer Boulevard and Auraria
Parkway in downtown Denver showed an eight-hour average carbon monoxide concentration of 9.45 parts per
million. The federal standard is 9.0 parts per million.
A lack of winds and a shallow, ground-level inversion led to
stagnant ambient air conditions throughout the Denver metropolitan area. As the evening rush hour
picked up, levels began to climb, peaking with a one-hour concentration of 13.2 parts per million at
8 p.m.
Denver last exceeded federal health-based standards for carbon
monoxide on Friday, Dec. 1, 1995, when the air pollution monitor at 21st and Broadway in downtown
Denver recorded an eight-hour average reading of 9.53. That exceedance was the second in 1995,
resulting in an official violation of the federal standard.
A violation occurs the second time within a calendar year that an
eight-hour concentration of 9.5 parts per million or greater is recorded.
Since this is the only exceedance so far in 1999, the area
remains in compliance. If another exceedance were to occur before Jan. 1, 2000, the area would be in
violation of the standard.
During the 1970s when air quality monitoring began on a wide
scale in Colorado and throughout the nation, the Denver metropolitan area regularly violated federal
carbon monoxide standards more than 100 times a year. However, strategies like strict emissions
controls on vehicles, emissions testing programs, and the mandatory seasonal use of oxygenated
gasolines have virtually eliminated carbon monoxide levels that approach or exceed the standard.
Christopher Dann is the public information
officer for the Air Pollution Control Division at the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment.
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