Published Sunday, February 23, 2003
By Sherris Moreira-Byers
Herald Staff Writer
Local lawmakers want to see clean air in Mercer County but they don't think local cars should face the same stringent emissions tests drivers in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh do.
"What we contribute to the emissions in the state is quite small," said Denny Puko, executive director of the Mercer County Regional Planning Commission.
Mercer County will have to comply with emissions testing because of a lawsuit brought by an environmental group against the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation.
State Rep. Rod. E. Wilt, Sugar Grove Township, R-17th District, said there is nothing state lawmakers can do to about the U.S. District Court ruling.
"No one has ever voted on it, other than the (federal) Clean Air Act (amendment) in 1990. It is a legal issue," Wilt said. "Opting out is too late. Mercer County is in it. How we are going to be in it is up to us. That's the gray area."
The court ruling against PennDOT and DEP requires 16 counties, Mercer among them, to begin testing auto emissions. Nine counties in and around the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas already require testing.
DEP and PennDOT are appealing the ruling but are going ahead with plans to implement testing in eight counties this year and eight counties next year. Mercer County is in the second group, which Wilt said is the county's window of opportunity.
"Yes we're in it, but there's no definitive rules for how Mercer County will apply it. As a county, we should make a county statement and ask DEP and PennDOT to make every part of the implementation process the least intrusive and the least expensive method possible," Wilt said.
Despite its rural characteristics, Mercer County does not meet federal emissions standards laid down by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Puko said interstates 79 and 80 are part of the county's emissions problem. According to PennDOT, the daily vehicle miles, or DVM, traveled in the county is about 3.4 million. The DVM for the state is over 283 million miles.
"That means we only have about 1.2 percent of the Daily Vehicle Miles traveled in the state, and 30.7 percent was figured as interstate traffic," Puko said. Much of that traffic isn't local, he said.
County Commissioner Olivia M. Lazor said when she sat in on EPA meetings concerning the Clean Air Act amendment, she was shown how the wind patterns over the county brought in air pollution.
The only air testing site in Mercer County is near Farrell High School, Puko said. "There's only one for the entire county and its a mile or two from the Ohio line," said Mrs. Lazor. "We have 675 square miles in the county and we're being tested by one site."
She also suggested that the county file a class action lawsuit, since the county is "an island" surrounded by counties that won't face emissions testing.
"At heart, I'm an environmentalist ... But you have to be practical," she said, noting the cost of testing to county residents and the businesses that would have to buy expensive equipment to perform the testing.
Hermitage Commissioner James "Pat" White, who convened a meeting of lawmakers on the issue Friday, called it another one of the state's "unfunded mandates."
"It will certainly be a tremendous burden to the citizens who can't afford a late model automobile."
Wilt encouraged local leaders to draft a resolution asking DEP and PennDOT to postpone implementation "as long as possible and when it is implemented, it be implemented at the lowest level possible."
Instead of an emission inspection for each car in the county, Wilt suggested other options including random emissions checks with a dashboard tester or providing extra air testing sites in the county.
"We do have a pretty good opportunity right now," Wilt said, adding that he and other state legislators are working on this issue.
Hermitage City manager Gary Hinkson likened the situation to a jury trial. "It looks like we've already been found guilty, and we're just trying to lower our sentence," he said.
Mercer County Regional Planning Commission will offer its 32 members the opportunity to sign a draft resolution to be sent to PennDOT, DEP and Gov. Ed Rendell.