Pennsylvania State Senator LaValle Vows to End Unfair Emissions Testing

    HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 7 Promising to offer an amendment to
every transportation bill that comes across his desk, state Sen. Gerald J.
LaValle (D-Beaver) today said he would continue his fight to pass legislation
suspending the federally-mandated auto emissions testing program, which
currently applies only to the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia regions.
    Speaking at a Senate Transportation Committee hearing, LaValle grilled
representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT)
with questions about why the two Democratic strongholds of the state must
comply with emissions testing when no other action has been taken to implement
the program in predominantly Republican areas of central Pennsylvania and
Lehigh Valley.
    "It's my contention, and that of many of my colleagues, if two areas of
the state are required to undergo emissions testing, then all areas of the
state should be required to do so," said LaValle.  "Or, no one should have to
do it all."
    Mandatory emissions testing was to have started in central Pennsylvania
and the Lehigh Valley region in late 1999, according to LaValle.  He said,
however, the program was never implemented because emissions testing has
become the "proverbial political football."
    "They gave us excuses about emerging technology -- which has actually been
in some cars since the 80s -- and said they have to wait until the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues guidelines on how to evaluate
this `new technology'," said LaValle.  "That's utterly ridiculous.  They've
already had more than a decade to evaluate it."
    PennDOT reported at the hearing they need guidelines from the EPA on how
to implement the program using on-board diagnostics.
    "They're using on-board diagnostics technology, which has been around
since the time that Pittsburgh and Philadelphia began testing vehicles for
high levels of emissions, as the reason they have not begun a program in any
other area of the state," said LaValle.  "As I told PennDOT at the hearing,
`You don't want to do a program here (central Pennsylvania) and you're not
going to do one here.'"
    LaValle said he's tried to amend legislation suspending auto emissions
testing until it's administered in every county required by the EPA.  However,
opponents claim Pennsylvania would be in violation of the federal Clean Air
Act and would lose federal transportation money.
    "They don't mind being in violation of the Clean Air Act when it comes to
southcentral Pennsylvania," LaValle said.  "We need to suspend the program in
southeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania until the program is implemented in
all areas affected."