State vehicle emissions testing ending this year, Department of Ecology says it worked

SEATTLE — The mandatory emissions tests on vehicles in Washington made before 2009 will come to a permanent end at the end of this year.

“We're ending the program right on schedule because air quality is better,” Department of Ecology Air Quality Supervisor Katie Skipper told KIRO7. “Cars are cleaner, fuels are cleaner.”

The program started in 1982, and in 2005, it was written into state law to phase out emissions testing upon the advice of the Department of Ecology.

Vehicle emissions still account for about half the air pollution in the state. The focus of the Department of Ecology is now shifting more to emissions standards when cars are made.

At the height of the testing program, about 1 million vehicles were tested per year. In this last year, it's anticipated 700,000 vehicles will be tested.

Roughly 11% of vehicles fail the test, and the car owners have to spend about $150 bringing them into compliance.

So that would be about 77,000 vehicles this year that are expected to be found as not compliant.

“Yes, individual cars that might have failed the test will still be on the road, but for not as long,” Skipper said. “And also, there are fewer and fewer of those cars so we expect air quality to continue to improve.”

Washington will join 17 other states without vehicle emissions testing. The program's end means the end for nine full-time positions with the Department of Ecology and 130 people with the contractor A-Plus, which does the testing and owns the facilities.

The bottom line is the Department of Ecology says the program worked and there are better ways now to improve air quality.

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