California Smog Check Program

California's history with smog

According to the California EPA, "Californians set the pace nationwide in their love affair with cars". The state’s 34 million residents own approximately 25 million cars—one for every adult aged 18 years or older.

Smog is created when nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbon gases (HC) are exposed to sunlight. The five gasses monitored during a smog check are Hydrocarbons (HC), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), and Oxygen (O2).

Impact on human health

In 1998 the Air Resource Board identified diesel particulate matter as carcinogenic. Further research revealed that it can cause life-shortening health problems such as respiratory illness, heart problems, asthma, and cancer. Diesel particulate matter is the most common airborne toxin that Californians breathe.

Between 2005 and 2007 air pollution led to almost 30,000 hospital and emergency room visits in California for asthma, pneumonia, and other respiratory and cardiovascular ailments. A study by RAND Corporation showed the cost to the state, federal and private health insurers was over $193 million in hospital-based medical care. John Romley lead author of the study. said "California's failure to meet air pollution standards causes a large amount of expensive hospital care." According to the American Lung Association, California’s dirty air causes 19,000 premature deaths, 9,400 hospitalizations and more than 300,000 respiratory illnesses including asthma and acute bronchitis.

A study of children living in Southern California found that smog can cause asthma. The study of over 3,000 children showed those living in high-smog areas were more likely to develop asthma if they were avid athletes, when compared to children who did not participate in sports.

More people in California live in areas that do not meet federal clean air standards than in any other state. A report by the American Lung Association states that some areas in California are the most polluted in the United States, with air quality that is likely damaging the health of millions of people. The report finds that Los Angeles, Bakersfield (CA), and Visalia-Porterville (CA) rank among the five U.S. cities most polluted with particulates and ozone.

Impact on global warming

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that is associated with global warming. Vehicles are a significant source of CO2 emissions and thus contribute to global warming. According to an advocacy group Environmental Defense, in 2004, automobiles from the three largest automakers in the US – Ford, GM, and DaimlerChrysler – contributed CO2 emissions that were comparable to those from the top 11 electric companies.

Historically, California was hottest in July and August, but as climate change takes place, the temperature may be extended from July through September, according to a report from the team established by the Air Resource Board. Some climate change simulations indicate the global warming impact on California will be an increase in the frequency of hot daytime and nighttime temperatures. The climate change simulations also indicate that drying in the Sacramento area may be evident by the mid 21st century. The California sea level has risen at about 7 inches per century, but this trend could change with global warming. According to the report by the Climate Action Team, “[t]he sea-level rise projections in the 2008 Impacts Assessment indicate that the rate and total sea-level rise in future decades may increase substantially above the recent historical rates”. While all sectors are vulnerable to rising sea-levels, 70 percent of those at risk are residential areas. Hospitals, schools, water treatment plants, and other buildings may be at risk of flooding.

Climate change may also affect California’s diverse agricultural sector, since it is likely to change precipitation, temperature averages, pest and weed ranges, and the length of the growing season (this affecting crop productivity). In one study, researchers looked at the possible effects on the agricultural sector in the US and identified some possible effects. Results suggested that climate change will decrease annual crop yields in the long-term, especially for cotton.

Climate change in California could also impact energy consumption. Demand patterns for electricity might be affected as the mean temperatures and the frequency of hot days increases, increasing demand for cooling in summertime.

Causes of smog

Air pollution has two primary sources, biogenic and anthropogenic. Biogenic sources are natural sources, such as volcanoes that spew particulate matter, lightning strikes that cause forest fires, and trees and other vegetation that release pollen and spores into the atmosphere.

Californian greenhouse gas emissions come mostly from transportation, utilities, and industries including refineries, cement, manufacturing, forestry, and agriculture. In 2004, transportation accounted for approximately 40 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in California. About 80 percent of that came from road transportation.

Population growth increases air pollution, as more vehicles are on the road. California’s large population significantly contributes to the high amount of smog and air pollution in the state. In 1930, California’s population was less than six million people and the total registered vehicles were two million.

Topography

California has a unique topography which contributes to some of the problems; the warm, sunny climate is ideal for trapping and forming air pollutants. On hot, sunny days, pollutants from vehicles, industry, and many products may chemically react with each other. In the winter, temperature inversions can trap tiny particles of smoke and exhaust from vehicles and anything else that burns fuel. This keeps pollution closer to the ground.

History of the Smog Check Program

The first “Smog Check” program was implemented in March 1984. It came about as a result of "SB 33" which was passed in 1982. The program included a biennial and change of ownership testing, "BAR 84" idle emissions test plus a visual and functional inspection of various emission control components, a $50 repair cost limit, licensing shops to perform smog checks and mechanic certification for emissions repair competence. The program is generally known as “BAR 84” program. During the BAR 84 program, the first acceleration simulation mode (ASM) test was implemented which tests for 2 gases, HC and CO (hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide). Motor vehicles from the 1966 model year and beyond were subjected to Smog Check I. Also automobiles with a motor swap performed prior to the March 19, 1984 mandate which was older than the model year of the vehicle e.g. a 1970 LT-1 350 swapped into a 1975 Chevrolet with the 1970 smog gear intact (with documentation e.g. receipts) are considered noncompliant illegal engine swaps - this means that the engine swap performed after the date of enactment must be the same model year or newer.

In 1997 important laws were passed that made significant changes to Smog Check II.

In 1999, “AB 1105” made additional changes to the program. It authorized but did not require the Bureau of Automotive Repairs (BAR) to exempt vehicles up to six years old from the biennial smog check and gave the agency authorization to except additional vehicles by low-emitter profiling (Schwartz). It also created additional changes to the repair assistance program and provided BAR with increased flexibility for how much to pay drivers whose vehicle failed the smog check so that the vehicle may be scrapped.

In 2010 the Air Resource Board and the Bureau of Automotive Repair jointly sponsored legislation, "AB 2289", that is designed to improve the program to reduce air pollution through “the use of new technologies that provide considerable time and cost savings to consumers while at the same time improving consumer protections by adopting more stringent fine structures to respond to stations and technicians that perform improper and incomplete inspections”. The bill, which passed and took effect in 2013, will allow for a major upgrade in technologies used to test vehicle emissions. According to ARB Chairman, Mary D. Nichols, “[t]his new and improved program will have the same result as taking 800,000 vehicles away from California residents, also resulting in a more cost effective program for California motorists”. One way the program would reduce costs is by taking advantage of on-board diagnostic (OBDII) technology that has been installed on new vehicles since 1996. The program will eliminate tailpipe testing of post-1999 vehicles and instead use the vehicle’s own emissions monitoring systems. This system has saved consumers in 22 states time and money. Vehicles manufactured in the model years between 1976 and 1999 are now required to pass a more stringent dynamometer-based tail-pipe test than was previously required. A high number of vehicles in this range have begun to fail the emissions test with the arrival of their first test-year under the new rule; some question the influence of the automotive industry on the new rule and the inherent push and perceived unfair requirement to purchase a new or near-new vehicle to replace an otherwise functional and OBDII compliant vehicle.

Smog check process

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) sends a registration renewal notice which indicates if a smog check is required. If the DMV requires a smog check for a vehicle, the owner must comply with the notice within 90 days and provide a completed smog check certificate. Until a smog certificate can be provided registration will not be renewed. If the vehicle fails the smog check, the owner will be required to complete all necessary repairs and pass a smog check retest in order to complete the registration. If the costs of repairing the vehicle outweigh its value, the state may buy it and have it scrapped. The buyback program is part of California’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) that also offers consumer assistance for repairs related to smog check. The program is administered by the Bureau of Automotive Repair.

Policy tools

Air is susceptible to the Tragedy of the Commons, but that can be overcome with policy tools. In their book Environmental Law and Policy, Salzman and Thompson describe these policy tools as the "5 P’s" - Prescriptive Regulation, Property Rights, Penalties, Payments, and Persuasion.

Throughout the years there have been some tensions between the US EPA and the California EPA with disagreements centered on California’s Smog Check Policy (The Press-Enterprise, 1997). One disagreement has been over where smog checks are performed. The EPA believes that smog checks and smog repairs must be done separately, to avoid conflicts of interest.

For years, California has been asking the US EPA to approve a waiver allowing it to enforce its own greenhouse gas emission standards for new motor vehicles. A request was made in December 2005, but denied in March 2008 under the Bush administration, when interpretations of the Clean Air Act found California did not have the need for special emission standards. However, shortly after taking office, president Obama asked the EPA to assess if it was appropriate to deny the waiver and subsequently allowed the waiver. US EPA’s interpretation of the Clean Air Act allows California to have its own vehicle emissions program and set greenhouse gas standards due to the state’s unique need.

Car manufacturers have been strongly opposed to the emission standards set by California, arguing that regulation imposes further costs on consumers. In 2004, California approved the world’s most stringent standards to reduce auto emissions, and the auto industry threatened to challenge the regulations in court. The new regulations required car makers to cut exhaust from cars and light trucks by 25% and from larger trucks and SUVs by 18%, standards that must be met by 2016. The auto industry argued that California’s Air Resource Board did not have the authority to adopt such regulation and that the new standards could not be met with the current technology. They further argued that it would raise vehicle costs by as much as $3,000. The agency, however, countered that argument by saying that the additional costs would only be about $1,000 by 2016.

The Obama administration has proposed setting a national standard for greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, which could potentially increase fuel efficiency by an average of 5% per year from 2012 to 2016.

Evaluation

According to the California Air Resources Board, the California Smog Check program removes about 400 tons of smog-forming pollutants from California’s air every day.

On March 12, 2009, the Bureau of Automotive Repair and the Air Resource Board hired Sierra Research, Inc. to analyze the data collected in the BAR’s Roadside Inspection Program to evaluate the effectiveness of the Smog Check Program from data collected in 2003–2006. Under the Roadside Inspection Program vehicles are randomly inspected at checkpoints set up by the California Highway Patrol (CHP). One objective of the evaluation was to compare the post smog check performance of pre-1996 (1974–1995) vehicles to the post smog check performance determined from a previous evaluation collected in 2000–2002. The report made several recommendations to reduce the number of vehicles failing the Roadside test. One was to develop a method for evaluating station performance. The other was to perform inspections immediately following certifications at smog check stations. Finally, the report recommended continued use of the Roadside test to evaluate the effectiveness of the Smog Check program.