Emission testing ending in Treasure Valley

Publish date: 2024-05-07

Starting July 1, 2023, those biennial trips to the emission testing center will end if you live in Kuna or Canyon County.

"Motor vehicles are becoming cleaner and cleaner burning. They're manufactured to be cleaner, so emissions testing program isn't as effective as it used to be in the past," said David Luft, the air quality manager for the Boise Regional Department of Environmental Quality.

Since 1984 emission testing has been required in Ada County because of high levels of carbon monoxide pollution.

"Currently, the emissions testing is required by city ordinances, so local ordinances. It's also state-mandated due to statute, and it's also federally mandated," Luft said.

Now the Department of Environmental Quality is pushing for testing to also end in Ada County.

"We have to show that removing that program would not negatively affect air quality," Luft said.

This may be good news for some, but it isn't for Mike Howard, owner of Mike's Emission,

"It will basically be the end of my business and anybody else that's in this business," Howard said.

For ten years Howard has been running his shop on State Street, but now it may come to a close.

"Without somebody around providing the service that we provide to make sure that the cars are running properly, it's going to start going the other way," Howard said.

The DEQ says emissions will continue their downward trend.

"Even without that program on road motor vehicle emissions will continue to decline through 2040," Luft said.

But Howard said he's worried testing will only lead to bigger problems.

"You can make laws and regulations, but if you don't have some enforcement mechanism to make sure people abide by them, they're going to find ways to go around them," Howard said.

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