Cost of smog tests up in the air

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Thursday, May 31, 2001 | 10:39 a.m.

Air quality in Clark County may suffer in the short term if the Assembly is successful in halving a proposed increase for smog tests, the director of the county's Air Quality Division says.

The Senate approved a $6 increase, with the money going toward air-quality programs. But the Assembly would only approve a $3 increase. To resolve the issue, a Senate-Assembly conference is set to take place some time before Monday's official close of the 2001 Legislature.

Clark County Air Quality Division Director Christine Robinson says the full $6 is needed to launch programs that will enable the county to meet federal air-quality standards. The county has been out of compliance for more than a decade and faces the loss of millions in highway funds if it fails to put forward an acceptable plan.

"Based on this (the Assembly's) decision, we won't have the money to meet our commitments," Robinson said.

Owners of cars that are two or more years old are required to pass a smog test each year to register their vehicles. Tests for cars cost a maximum of $28 and tests for heavier vehicles, including trucks and sport utility vehicles, are $30.50. Prices vary among competing smog test businesses.

The revenues of $5 per test are divided among three state and one local government agency. The Clark County Air Quality Division, which currently gets $1, will receive all of whatever increase is approved.

It was the air quality division that originally proposed the $6 increase.

Those who argued in favor of the lower amount included Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas.

"This is a balance between what the division asked for and what we feel is best for accountability," Buckley said. "We're concerned because the agency doesn't have a very good track record and has a history of mismanagement."

Buckley was referring to a legislative study that found fault with the Air Quality Division before Robinson took over last year.

The assemblywoman said the $3 increase would allow the Air Quality Division to reach its goals. But should this increase prove insufficient, the Assembly has tacked a provision onto Senate Bill 357 that would allow voters in November 2002 to decide if the smog test fee should be increased again, to the originally proposed $6.

John Schlegel, director of the county's Department of Comprehensive Planning, which handles air quality policy, concurred with Robinson that a $3 increase might not be enough.

"We may not have funds to get things done as fast as we would like," Schlegel said.

Robinson's agency, which enforces the county's policies on air quality, had argued for the $6 increase to raise $4.5 million a year, $4.2 million of which would initially go toward reaching compliance with federal Clean Air Act standards on pollutants such as carbon monoxide and particulate matter, or dust, as well as studying ozone, a major component of smog.

If the county does not come into compliance, the Environmental Protection Agency could levy heavy sanctions on Nevada, including the loss of up to $170 million in federal highway funds.

The rest of the money was targeted at building a new umbrella agency to deal with regional air quality issues -- a measure proposed in Senate Bill 536. It is currently awaiting Gov. Kenny Guinn's signature.

The new agency would replace the Air Quality Division and the portion of the county planning department that creates air quality policy.

To meet the first goal, 39 additional staff members would be hired to go along with the 85 who already work in the division; for the second, there would be 13 new hires, said Robinson.

"Now we have to look at our priorities again and find additional funds -- though we haven't yet determined from where," she said.

Robinson said motorists are responsible for about 68 percent of pollutants but contribute only 9 percent of her agency's revenue.

Other sources, mostly construction and industry, create about 32 percent of air pollution and contribute 64 percent of the agency's revenue. County, state and federal funds account for the balance of the agency's budget.

Buckley insists that the county, ultimately, must prove to the public that it needs more money to clean up the air.

"The agency has to make its case ... that the public should be more involved," she said.

Nathan Birch, an emissions technician at Smog Busters, said he supports a raise in fees. "Drivers are either going to have to pay now or pay later in order to clean up the air," he said.