County to Consider Running Smog Tests

Despite protests from some smog-test business owners, the board of the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District agreed Tuesday to pursue legislation that will allow the county to establish large, centralized smog inspection stations.

The larger stations would reduce the cost of smog tests to consumers, while giving the county a chance to greatly reduce emissions and meet its air quality goals, said Richard Baldwin, the county’s top air pollution control officer. The stations would only do smog tests and not repairs.

Baldwin said studies have shown that about half of the vehicles that pass smog tests in the state were improperly inspected. He said that large, centralized testing stations, which have been in use in several states for years, greatly reduce the number of faulty inspections because repairs are done elsewhere.

Baldwin acknowledged that establishing two or three centralized smog inspection stations in the county would hurt the area’s 235 local inspection and repair stations. But he said the stations would benefit from increased repair business.

Several station owners, however, disagreed. They also expressed concerns about the government eventually getting into the smog inspection business.

“Independent shop owners are all going to be losers because they’ve invested $10,000, $15,000 and $20,000 in equipment,” said Jim McConica, owner of Monica Motors in Ventura.

“I can see no way that this is going to help.”

But members of the air pollution control board said the county is under a federal mandate to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions and therefore has little choice but to pursue the new legislation.

County Supervisor Judy Mikels, a representative on the 10-member board, said the legislation would also help the county’s economy by focusing more on vehicle emissions, the largest source of air pollution, rather than on businesses.

“The automobile is our biggest problem,” Mikels said. “We all know that. And I think now is the time to take the step that can help the overall economy of Ventura County.”