Is E-Check going away? Here's where Ohio's attempt to eliminate vehicle testing stands

The check engine light may be on for Ohio's E-Check program.

Ohio lawmakers are pressing federal regulators for a major tune-up of the program that requires motorists in Greater Akron and Cleveland to have their vehicles inspected every two years.

Tucked inside of a mammoth Transportation Bill passed by lawmakers and signed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in March is a provision that formally asks the federal EPA and the Trump administration to make modifications to the state's emissions testing in northern Ohio.

Since 1996, motorists in Summit, Portage, Medina, Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain and Geauga counties have been mandated to have their vehicles tested to help meet the EPA's edict that the state cut down on lower-level ozone or pollution.

The testing has been a hot-button issue for some motorists and politicians alike as just seven of Ohio's counties are required to have the testing done to meet emission standards.

What state leaders think about E-Check's future

After some 29 years, state Rep. Bill Roemer, a Republican from Richfield, said he believes there's a real chance for some relief from the testing in Northeast Ohio.

"This is the most optimistic I have been in seven years," he said.

Roemer said there have been dozens of similar EPA edicts "rolled back" by the Trump administration in other parts of the country.

The changes to E-Check, he argues, just make sense as the testing is outdated.

Those older vehicles that contributed to the poor air quality in Northeast Ohio are long gone and have been replaced with more modern ones with better emission controls, he said.

"We have been penalized for too long," Roemer said.

And the latest effort has the support of some big political names in the state.

U.S. Sen. John Husted used a recent Senate confirmation hearing to press Trump nominee Katherine Scarlett, an Ohio native who is seeking to chair the White House Council on Environmental Quality, for relief of the E-Check program in Greater Akron.

Husted argued E-Check is an "ineffective" and "burdensome" edict that costs select Ohioans some $14 million a year.

U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, a Republican from Geauga County, has also been a vocal opponent of the testing.

“The E-Check emissions testing program has placed unnecessary burdens and costs on working class Ohioans," he said. "Regulations like this hurt the average family trying to get by and amounts to government overreach. I will continue working with local officials and the EPA to get rid of this hurtful program.”

What changes are being proposed for E-Check?

As it stands now, all gas-, diesel- and flex-fueled vehicles (including non-plug-in hybrids) that are between six and 25 years old and registered in Summit, Portage, Medina, Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain and Geauga counties are required to be tested by E-Check every two years.

The testing is done either at an E-Check station or a mobile kiosk.

If the vehicle's check engine light is on, it is an automatic failure of the test requiring repairs that must total at least $300 for a waiver.

The proposed modifications would forgo the in-person testing and simply require motorists to "attest" that a vehicle's emission system − including muffler and catalytic converter − are working and have not been tampered with.

E-Check Attestation by Dan Kadar on Scribd

What happens next with Ohio E-Check?

The legislation seeking modifications to the E-Check program to no longer require in-person testing in Greater Akron passed in the Statehouse in March.

In the ensuing months, the Ohio EPA reviewed the state's formal request and sought public comment.

The formal request − some 964 pages long − was sent to U.S. EPA's regional office in Chicago on July 9.

EPA spokesperson Molly Vaseliou said the agency is reviewing the state's request.

"Once (the review is) complete, under the Clean Air Act, EPA will propose its decision in the Federal Register, followed by a 30-day public comment period," Vaseliou said. "After addressing public comments, EPA will publish its final decision in the Federal Register.

"There is no current update on timing."

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio lawmakers ask EPA to end E-Check testing in Greater Akron