70.120.150 - Vehicle emission and equipment standards -- Designation of noncompliance areas and emission contributing areas.

Vehicle emission and equipment standards — Designation of noncompliance areas and emission contributing areas.

The director:

     (1) Shall adopt motor vehicle emission and equipment standards to: Ensure that no less than seventy percent of the vehicles tested comply with the standards on the first inspection conducted, meet federal clean air act requirements, and protect human health and the environment.

     (2) Shall adopt rules implementing the smoke opacity testing requirement for diesel vehicles that ensure that such test is objective and repeatable and that properly maintained engines that otherwise would meet the applicable federal emission standards, as measured by the new engine certification test, would not fail the smoke opacity test.

     (3) Shall designate a geographic area as being a "noncompliance area" for motor vehicle emissions if (a) the department's analysis of emission and ambient air quality data, covering a period of no less than one year, indicates that the standard has or will probably be exceeded, and (b) the department determines that the primary source of the air contaminant is motor vehicle emissions.

     (4) Shall reevaluate noncompliance areas if the United States environmental protection agency modifies the relevant air quality standards, and shall discontinue the program if compliance is indicated and if the department determines that the area would continue to be in compliance after the program is discontinued. The director shall notify persons residing in noncompliance areas of the reevaluation.

     (5) Shall analyze information regarding the motor vehicle traffic in a noncompliance area to determine the smallest land area within whose boundaries are present registered motor vehicles that contribute significantly to the violation of motor vehicle-related air quality standards in the noncompliance area. The director shall declare the area to be an "emission contributing area." An emission contributing area established for a carbon monoxide or oxides of nitrogen noncompliance area must contain the noncompliance area within its boundaries. An emission contributing area established for an ozone noncompliance area located in this state need not contain the ozone noncompliance area within its boundaries if it can be proven that vehicles registered in the area contribute significantly to violations of the ozone air quality standard in the noncompliance area. An emission contributing area may be established in this state for violations of federal air quality standards for ozone in an adjacent state if (a) the United States environmental protection agency designates an area to be a "nonattainment area for ozone" under the provisions of the federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), and (b) it can be proven that vehicles registered in this state contribute significantly to the violation of the federal air quality standards for ozone in the adjacent state's nonattainment area.

     (6) Shall, after consultation with the appropriate local government entities, designate areas as being noncompliance areas or emission contributing areas, and shall establish the boundaries of such areas by rule. The director may also modify boundaries. In establishing the external boundaries of an emission contributing area, the director shall use the boundaries established for ZIP code service areas by the United States postal service.

     (7) May make grants to units of government in support of planning efforts to reduce motor vehicle emissions.

[1991 c 199 § 207; 1989 c 240 § 2.]

Notes: Finding -- 1991 c 199: See note following RCW 70.94.011.

Effective dates -- Severability -- Captions not law -- 1991 c 199: See RCW 70.94.904 through 70.94.906.