Wisconsin Nine years behind Minnesota in Scrapping Emissions Testing

Written by Brandon Henak on April 28, 2008 – 3:50 pm -

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As a former resident of Minnesota I have always marveled at the expensive and time consuming emissions testing process that Wisconsin forces it’s drivers through every time they renew their tabs. It’s great to hear they are finally partially abandoning part of this wasteful program (HT: BnS) :

” Starting on July 1, cars and trucks built before 1996 will be exempt from having to undergo vehicle emissions inspections in southeastern Wisconsin. The latest figures in 2007 show that the change would have affected 28% of vehicles in the region - or about 175,000 cars.
..
The decision to give older cars a pass will also send more pollutants into the air until 2018. But other factors such as the use of reformulated gas will lessen the effects, officials say.
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These and other features are part of a revamping of the state’s emissions inspection program for cars and trucks in seven counties, including all of metro Milwaukee.
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The $13.3 million annual program - in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha and Sheboygan counties - is financed by the state transportation fund, the state’s general fund and other sources. “

It’s a start I guess. Minnesota removed their program back in 1999:

“She’s been convinced since 1994 that the extra money metro motorists were paying for the testing amounted to an unfair tax, Johnson said.

“What researchers have found is that the test originally identified the most troublesome polluters among older cars, but fewer and fewer vehicles were in violation because of new technology,” Johnson stated in a press release.
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Haake also attributed the non-necessity of emissions testing to advancing technology.

She said the onset of testing never even caused a blip on the charts and that they found vehicle emissions were steadily declining at six percent a year.”

My favorite part of the article, and definitely the most revealing quote, is this:

“In committee testimony last session, lawmakers heard that it’s necessary to drive a modern car for thousands of miles to equal the amount of hazard[ous] emissions spewed by a lawnmower.”

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2 Comments to “Wisconsin Nine years behind Minnesota in Scrapping Emissions Testing”

  1. Pez Says:
    April 29th, 2008 at 6:50 am

    I would be ecstatic if an emissions test was the only thing needed her in Virginia! It is so ridiculous over here. You have to get your car inspected and fix anything deemed wrong, which is usually a ton of things costing a few hundred dollars. And to top it all off you have to pay a personal property tax on the car! Ridiculous!

  2. MUConservative08 Says:
    April 29th, 2008 at 10:56 am

    Three comments,
    First, in reference to your favorite part of the article: is the amount of hazard emissions spewed by a lawnmower over one hour? a year? That quote does not reveal anything because it is unknown what the comparison is.

    Second, as there are always two sides, an interesting article:

    http://www.opei.org/newsroom/story_display.php?id=30

    Third, I do agree that emission testing is expensive and a waste of time. I was just bothered by the misleading lawnmower comment.

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