Cost for waiving smog rules raised

Thursday, March 26, 1998 | 9:53 a.m.

If you want to waive air pollution rules when your car can't pass its smog inspection in Clark County it will cost $450 in auto repairs starting in May.

The Nevada Environmental Commission approved the higher repair fees Wednesday during a meeting in Las Vegas. The current fee is $200 per vehicle.

Commission member Mark Doppe of Las Vegas said population growth isn't slowing and that the amended regulations were "a step in the right direction." The Commission unanimously approved the repair fee change.

Clark County and county Health District officials supported the higher fee because the Las Vegas Valley is considered a "serious" area for carbon monoxide pollution which spews from vehicle exhaust.

As Southern Nevada continues its rapid growth, the pollution problem is expected to get worse.

About 1,000 cars receive waivers in Clark County each year from the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety, said Michael Naylor, the Health District's Air Pollution Control director.

And about 100 of those failing vehicles account for more than half the air pollution in the valley, Naylor said.

The Clark County Commission passed a resolution in support of the higher repair fees. County planner Clete Kus said Southern Nevada will face tighter inspections to help clear the air. Although Clark County did not measure any days violating carbon monoxide levels this winter, it recorded three bad air days a year ago.

But not everyone agreed that the new fees would help clear the air.

"All I think it's going to do is piss people off," said Burton Spencer, who has been testing local cars for smog over the past 20 years.

As a Class II inspector, Spencer also repairs automobiles for Smog Busters. He worries about the single mother with four kids who has a car worth $50, but will need to pay $450 to receive a pollution waiver.

Spencer suggested giving residents incentives to avoid air pollution. For example, he urged environmental officials earlier this year to drop the repair fee to $100 or give people $2,000 to buy another car.

"Now cars will be parked on the side of the road and more people will have to take the bus," he said.

The Environmental Commission was kinder to Washoe County, the other area in the state with a major population and high carbon monoxide levels in winter. Washoe motorists will pay the current $200 because the northern Nevada valley has had no bad air days in years.

Clark County officials plan to bring more revisions to the Environmental Commission in an effort to clean up Southern Nevada's air to meet federal Environmental Protection Agency requirements. Proposals will include stricter enforcement of smog control businesses and better technician training for those who check and repair cars.