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September 10, 2002
I am writing in response to Mr. Oakes' implied erroneous claim that
Jefferson County's Vehicle Emissions Testing program exempts diesel vehicles
from testing requirements. Since the program's start-up more than 18 years
ago, the VET program has tested all diesel vehicles weighing 18,000 pounds
or less. And until changes enacted by the 2000 General Assembly, those
diesel vehicles undergoing an annual emissions check also counted buses,
including TARC and public school buses. The findings of a recent U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency study that detail the links between diesel
exhaust and respiratory illnesses, including cancer, underscore the
significant impact of vehicle emissions on our health as well as the
important role that emissions testing has played in securing improvements in
local air quality.
Sincerely,
Art Williams
Director, Air Pollution Control District of Jefferson County
submitted by:
Rebecca Stutsman, Public Information Officer
Air Pollution Control District of Jefferson County
850 Barret Avenue, Louisville, KY 40204
(Ph) 502/574-7242 (Fax) 502/574-5306
Editor's note: In response to our question about the
regulations for diesel vehicles, Ms. Stutsman sent the following:
Dear Ms. Camoriano:
For more info about the testing procedure for diesel vehicles, you can view
a description in our local regulation found at
www.apcd.org/regs/reg8/8-02fv5.pdf. Scroll down to page 8 of the document
and look at Section 7 for more information about the opacity tests conducted
for these diesel vehicles. Until July 2000, all TARC buses, all Jefferson
County public school buses, and private charter buses were subject to VET
tests until the changes made by General Assembly became law that year.
Semi-trucks weigh more than 18,000 pounds and thus, have not been subject to
the testing requirements.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Stutsman, Public Information Officer
Air Pollution Control District of Jefferson County
850 Barret Avenue, Louisville, KY 40204
(Ph) 502/574-7242 (Fax) 502/574-5306
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