Proposed SIP Revision
Proposed Amendments to theNew Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles' Enhanced Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Rules

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles (NJDMV) will jointly hold a public hearing on July 9, 2001. The purpose of this hearing is to take comment on the NJDMV's proposed rule at N.J.A.C. 13:20 and the proposed revision to the New Jersey State Implementation Plan (SIP) reflecting the emission-related provisions of the NJDMV's proposed rules. The NJDMV's rule proposal and notice of this hearing appeared in the New Jersey Register on June 4, 2001.

The NJDMV's proposal:
The NJDMV is proposing new rules and amendments to its existing rules pertaining to the State's enhanced I/M program. The NJDMV's rule proposal makes numerous changes to the current I/M program design. These changes range from administrative changes and changes related solely to the safety portion of the State's inspection program to changes that could impact the emission reduction potential of the I/M program. For those changes that could potentially impact the emission reductions gained through the enhanced I/M program, the State is proposing a companion SIP revision document, explaining these changes and their impact in greater detail. Specifically, the companion SIP document discusses the following NJDMV proposed changes that could impact the air quality benefits associated with the enhanced I/M program:

• a provision that stipulates that if leasing companies and out-of-state new motor vehicle dealerships inspect a new motor vehicle's safety and emission control devices to insure that they conform to the specifications established by the manufacturer and contained in the pre-delivery checklist, the vehicle can be issued a temporary inspection decal. This decal allows the motorist to present the vehicle at the exit end of any CIF and be issued a two year inspection decal;

• an exemption of gasoline-fueled school buses, which are subject to inspection by the NJDMV's School Bus Inspection Unit, from the inspection requirements of the enhanced I/M program; 

• an allowance for any motor vehicle that passes an on-road inspection within the two-month period prior to its regularly scheduled biennial inspection to use the on-road inspection result in lieu of the complete biennial inspection, so long as the tests performed on-road are the same tests that would be performed on the vehicle as part of the biennial inspection process;

• an exemption from dynamometer testing for any motor vehicle "with a chassis height that has been modified so as to make its operation on a dynamometer either impractical or hazardous, as will be determined in the discretion of the Director [of the NJDMV]"; and,

• a modification of the minimum cost expenditure value needed for the issuance of a cost waiver from $200 to $450 as of January 1, 2002.

None of the proposed amendments to the NJDMV's rules will significantly impact the emission reduction potential of the enhanced I/M program. As such, no remodeling of the emission reduction benefits of the program for SIP purposes is necessary.

The proposed non-emission-related amendments to the NJDMV's proposed rules are not discussed in the companion SIP revision document and are not considered part of the SIP revision. However, the July 9, 2001 hearing will take comments on all aspects of the NJDMV's proposed rulemaking, including those that do not rise to the level of a SIP revision.

Written and/or oral testimony will be received at the public hearing that will be held on Monday, July 9, 2001 at 1:30 pm, First Floor Public Hearing Room, Department of Environmental Protection, 401 E. State Street, Trenton, New Jersey. Written comments relevant to the NJDMV's proposal and the proposed revisions to the New Jersey SIP may be submitted until close of business Friday, July 13, 2001 to Lino F. Pereira, Acting Director, Division of Motor Vehicles, Attention: Legal Staff, 225 East State Street, P.O. Box 162, Trenton, New Jersey 08666-0162.