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Air Quality Vs. Economic Development Regarding VET
by John
Riley
Whether or
not to continue Vehicle Emissions Testing (VET) in Jefferson County and in
Northern Kentucky is a serious issue for the business AND private
citizens. Both corporate and private citizens must depend on our elected
officials for their intellectual and political leadership if any
resolution has a chance of being fair.
We all must
first agree that the most important issue is not the money; it is the
quality of the air we breathe. Yet, money is very important in the whole
picture. If money IS put ahead of "clean air", as some people on
the private side of the issue believe, it’s a bad deal. However, if
"clean air" is taken to an extreme and is put above money
regardless of cost to the citizens or business, both monetary and
economic, then THAT is a bad deal and many people see the issue from that
perspective.
With that
said, lets look at the issue a little closer.
VET testing
in Jefferson County began in 1982. Air quality was a concern then and
should continue to be "priority one" today. None of the vehicles
(cars and light trucks) on the road in Jefferson County at that time were
equipped with any emissions reduction technology or equipment beyond a
muffler to reduce noise. Clean automobile emissions were not a big concern
until then.
In mid
1980’s we began seeing the automobile industry take a more serious
approach to the low emissions and "clean air" goal in the
design, equipment and technology built into the new cars and trucks, and
also the need to reduce emissions in the manufacturing process as well.
These improvements have been successful and are truly commendable. But,
they have come with a high cost that we all must pay. That cost is
shouldered mostly by the average citizen who wants and, in most cases
depends on that vehicle for transportation.
Businesses
pay those costs also when they buy vehicles because the cost is built in
to the price of the vehicle; however, for most businesses that vehicle
cost is a tax-deductible expense. The heavy burden has been placed mainly
on the private individual who goes to the local dealer to buy a vehicle,
new or used.
We also pay
a heavy cost for the poorly planed and developed road systems through our
gas, property and sales taxes. Many of these projects are completely out
of any control of the average citizen and they become entirely political
decisions rather than reasonable decisions that promote clean air.
So, to make
an argument that VET is a "small price" is to disregard any
costs we already pay for the irrefutable gains made in reducing vehicle
emissions. In fact, the $11 plus the value of lost time to take the test,
in far too many cases is only salt in the wound after recovery from
"sticker shock" and sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on roads
and highways. Hurstbourne Parkway, I-64, I-71, I-65, the Watterson
Expressway all come to mind especially during rush hour.
In fact,
many times we find ourselves behind a heavy truck or bus (which are
exempt) that belches out noxious clouds of pollution. Out of 425,664
vehicles 92% or more pass the test. The pass rate is closer to 100% when
you observe vehicles manufactured from 1990 on. Many of the new vehicles
are not even required to be tuned up for 100,000 miles.
We can be
certain that older vehicles produced prior to mid 1985’s will soon no
longer be on the road, leaving mostly the newer cleaner burning vehicles
and who knows what for the future. We already have in the dealers’
showrooms leading edge technology in vehicles that get 40-70 miles per
gallon. One of our local courier companies for example is now using
totally electric vehicles to deliver mail and packages. That is as
incredible as it is commendable.
Most of the
older vehicles are owned and driven by people who simply can’t afford to
buy a newer car and by elderly people on fixed incomes who still have the
coveted "cream puff" that only goes to the grocery or church and
back. Many of the 32,707 vehicles that failed on the initial test are
driven only occasionally or for very short distances. It is a false
assumption that all of those vehicles are constantly touring around our
community spewing out harmful pollution. Most people take very good care
of their older vehicles. If they don’t, the vehicles will simply wear
out and be taken off the road quicker due to the cost of repairs needed to
keep them on the road, safe and reliable.
It is the
other 392,957 vehicles that pass the test that people are upset about and
feel it is far to heavy of price to pay. Most of those vehicles, in fact,
pass the test at levels far below the standard that is set. Just pull out
your last compliance certificate and check for yourself. It is proven that
vehicles manufactured today and for many years do meet and far exceed the
EPA standards.
To continue
to require unnecessary VET testing of vehicles is simply not logical or
fair to the citizens of this community. This fact is not refuted, so the
argument that VET testing is necessary for "clean air" seems to
always evolve into a discussion regarding money and economic development
because of the EPA requirements.
There are
those people that believe we should leave businesses and industry alone
and continue to "cook up" the numbers and statistics about VET
testing that please the EPA and other state and local bureaucrats.
Lets look at
the business community and economic development side of the issue. Is it
too much of a burden to require businesses that use heavy trucks, off road
construction equipment, airplanes and even buses and trains to become more
sensitive about air quality? That’s not to mention the emissions from
industry. Many of our business really do take a serious approach to the
issue. Unfortunately many do not and yes they should!
No one wants
to destroy our businesses and our economic future by forcing businesses to
make payroll breaking investments in cleaner air technology because of
heavy handed or unnecessary government regulations any more than private
citizens do. However, the longer we balance the burden of "clean
air" in our community on the backs of nearly 400,000 vehicle owners
who shoulder the cost, the angrier those people will get.
The real
solution lies in the hands of our elected representatives. Those are the
people whom we must rely on to stand up and to be the leaders WE elected
them to be. To say that all of the community leaders are completely out of
ideas for better traffic movement and planning is not acceptable. To say
all of our elected officials are intellectually and politically bankrupt
to the extent that the EPA and federal and local bureaucrats are the only
ones with the solutions is not acceptable.
The case can
easily be made that VET testing is no longer needed. The case can also be
made to continue to phase in, at a tolerable rate, more stringent controls
on emissions of buses and trucks that are not currently covered by the
VET.
All it takes
is for a few of our community leaders to step up and lead, rather than
hide from the issue and sit safely and silently away from the public
debate. The public will eventually elect true leaders. It is time for VET
testing to go. It is time for those who defend it with political rhetoric
and false claims to follow.
Sincerely,
John M.
Riley, Member of Stop the VET
PS. The
notion that not testing 4 year old cars or newer is only a short term fix
for the angry public and will excessively punish those people in our
community who can least afford it. Sooner or later we will all be driving
low emissions vehicles unless manufacturers are no longer required to
produce clean cars.
John Riley
Louisville, KY 40222
Jriley8609@msn.com
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