THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, September 15, 1994           TAG: 9409150484
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   63 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** Vehicles failing emissions inspections would need repairs costing as much as $300 to $400. A story on voluntary testing in Thursday's MetroNews section mischaracterized the cost. Correction published , Saturday, September 17, 1994. P. A2 ***************************************************************** VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS TESTS ARE ENCOURAGED AGENCY ALSO INTENDS TO HAVE A CONSULTANT SET UP A PROGRAM FOR POLLUTION CREDITS.

The Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization decided Wednesday to encourage voluntary vehicle emissions inspections as a way to buy breathing room under Clean Air Act requirements.

The organization, an arm of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, also plans to hire a consultant to set up a pollution credit program for local industry, modeled after a plan in California.

Both moves are meant to bring the area into closer compliance with federal regulations and to give industry room to grow without worrying about jeopardizing federal funding.

The voluntary inspections would begin on local fleets, such as school buses and municipal vehicles. If the Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees the Clean Air Act, slams the region for a violation of air quality standards, such inspections could be required for all motorists.

The EPA was expected to impose measures six months ago, but is still ``somewhere between'' weeks and months away from making a decision, said Maria Pino, an environmental engineer with the Air, Radiation and Toxics Division of EPA.

Dwight Farmer, director of transportation for the planning district commission, said he wants to institute emissions inspections even if the EPA does not demand them and believes the inspections should be stricter than those required by the EPA.

That way, Farmer said, economic development in this region will not be constrained by EPA requirements - there will be ``more breathing room'' for development.

Regardless of the scenario, it will be several years before Hampton Roads motorists would be required to test their vehicles, Farmer said. Vehicles that fail the biannual test will need repairs costing between $300 and $400, he said.

Farmer said an environmental credit consultant is also needed to maximize regional development. In California, companies that reduce their pollution emissions are given credits that they can sell to other firms. That allows for development and also provides companies a return on their pollution-reducing investment, Farmer said.

The consultant would study such a program and determine whether it is needed in this region before the organization takes further action, Farmer said.

KEYWORDS: EMMISSION INSPECTIONS CLEAN AIR ACT by CNB