THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, March 17, 1995                 TAG: 9503170504
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                         LENGTH: Short :   48 lines

EMISSIONS TESTING COULD BE LIMITED HOUSE OKS BILL BARRING EPA RULE MEASURE MIGHT END DISPUTE BETWEEN AGENCY, HAMPTON ROADS

The U.S. House passed a $17 billion spending cut package Thursday that includes a provision barring tougher standards for automobile emission tests under the 1990 Clean Air Act.

The entire package must now go to the Senate and then President Clinton.

The measure, if passed, apparently would end Hampton Roads' lingering dispute with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over a crackdown on air emissions.

Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who opposed the tougher standards, said that the provision is a moratorium on enforcing both auto emissions plans and trip reduction plans until the House Commerce Committee has a chance to review the Clean Air Act.

The enhanced pollution testing program had been touted by EPA officials as one of the cheapest ways to reduce air pollution.

However, a number of states have suspended the emissions testing program, criticizing it as expensive and ineffective in reducing auto emissions. DeLay said that 22 of 28 state programs have been suspended or delayed because of problems or motorist complaints.

If the spending bill is passed, the moratorium on emissions testing would last until the beginning of the new fiscal year, Oct. 1.

EPA officials in January said that the agency would enforce tougher air pollution standards in Hampton Roads within 60 days because the region failed to meet a 1993 deadline for cleaning its air.

Gov. George F. Allen's administration and local officials persuaded the EPA this month to watch the region for another year before deciding if Hampton Roads exceeded an EPA rule that limits heavy smog to one day a year over three consecutive years. Hampton Roads recorded three such days in 1993 but none in 1994. Allen administration officials contended that the region would not violate the rule if no heavy smog was recorded in 1995.

State and local officials said that tougher enforcement could harm the region's economy because the EPA would have required mandatory emissions tests of cars and trucks, more expensive gasoline and new limits on industries that emit smog-causing pollutants. by CNB