Section 30. Applicability and authority of the department

Part II. General Provisions

A. The provisions of this chapter, unless specified otherwise, apply to the following:

1. Any owner of an affected motor vehicle, including new motor vehicles, specified in subsection B of this section. References made to responsibilities or requirements applicable to an affected motor vehicle shall mean that the owner shall be responsible for compliance with all applicable provisions of this chapter.

2. Any owner of an emissions inspection station or fleet emissions inspection station under the auspices of the enhanced emissions inspection program. References made to responsibilities or requirements of emissions inspection stations or fleet emissions inspection stations shall mean that the owner, permittee or certificate holder, as appropriate, shall be responsible for compliance with all applicable provisions of this chapter.

3. Any person who conducts an emissions inspection under the auspices of the enhanced emissions inspection program.

4. Any owner of an emissions repair facility performing emissions repairs on motor vehicles affected by this chapter. References made to responsibilities or requirements of certified emissions repair facilities shall mean that the owner, permittee or certificate holder, as appropriate, shall be responsible for compliance with all applicable provisions of this chapter.

5. Any emissions repair technician performing emissions repairs on motor vehicles affected by this chapter.

6. Any on-road emissions inspector conducting on-road testing.

7. Any person or corporation that has entered into a contract with the director to provide services in accordance with this chapter.

B. The provisions of this chapter, unless specified otherwise, apply to the following affected motor vehicles:

1. Any affected motor vehicle, including new motor vehicles, registered by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and garaged within the Northern Virginia program area.

2. Any affected motor vehicle, including new motor vehicles, registered by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and garaged outside of the Northern Virginia program area but operated primarily in the Northern Virginia program area.

3. Any affected motor vehicle, including new motor vehicles not registered by the Department of Motor Vehicles but operated primarily in the Northern Virginia program area.

4. Any affected motor vehicle, including new motor vehicles owned or operated as part of a fleet located outside the Northern Virginia program area but operated primarily in the Northern Virginia program area.

C. As provided in the Virginia Motor Vehicle Emissions Control Law, affected motor vehicles shall be submitted for biennial emissions inspections and shall be in compliance with this chapter.

1. Motor vehicles having obtained a valid enhanced emissions inspection pass from another program area or another state within the most recent 12 months may be determined by the director to be in compliance with the enhanced emissions inspection required by this chapter for initial registration in Virginia. The valid period for such emissions inspection shall be one year. The proof of emissions inspection results from an enhanced emissions inspection program shall be presented to the Department of Motor Vehicles in such cases. The vehicle and proof of compliance may be presented to the department for verification purposes in order to resolve questions or disputes. Such vehicles are subject to all other provisions of this chapter.

2. The director may temporarily defer the emissions inspection requirement for motor vehicles registered in but temporarily located outside the program area at the time of such requirement based on information including, but not limited to, the location of the vehicle, the reason for and length of its temporary location, and demonstration that it is not practical or reasonable to return the vehicle to the program area for inspection. All such information shall be provided by the owner and is subject to verification by the department.

3. Clean screen vehicles may be determined by the director to be in compliance with the enhanced emissions inspection required by this chapter.

D. Motor vehicles being titled for the first time shall be considered to have an enhanced emissions inspection valid for four years from the month of the first titling unless identified by the remote sensing program as violating the emissions standards for that program. A vehicle manufactured for the current model year or any of the three immediately preceding model years shall be considered to have a valid emissions inspection unless identified by the remote sensing program as violating the emissions standards established for that program. Such vehicles are not exempt from the emissions inspection program and are subject to all other provisions of this chapter.

E. Pursuant to § 46.2-1180 B of the Motor Vehicle Emissions Control Law, motor vehicles of the current model year and the four immediately preceding model years, held for resale in a licensed motor vehicle dealer's inventory, may be registered for one year upon sale without obtaining an emissions inspection in accordance with conditions enumerated below.

1. The vehicle must be registered in the program area.

2. The vehicle has not failed nor received a waiver during its most recent emissions inspection.

3. The vehicle has not previously been registered under the provisions of this subsection.

4. The motor vehicle dealer guarantees in writing to the customer and to the department that the emissions equipment on the motor vehicle is operating in compliance with the warranty of the manufacturer or distributor, or both if applicable, at the time of sale.

a. The document supplied must describe the method by which this compliance was determined and provide a copy of any emissions readings obtained from the vehicle for the purpose of making this showing.

b. The document must state in prominent or bold print that the certification in no way warrants or guarantees that the vehicle complied with the emission standards used in the Virginia enhanced emissions inspection program, or similar language approved by the department and that the customer has a right to request an emissions inspection, which may be at the expense of the customer, in lieu of the one year emissions validation period authorized by this subsection.

5. A written request, including the documentation cited above, must be presented to the department not more than 30 days prior to the date of sale so that the department can record such temporary emissions validation period and furnish it to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

6. Such temporary validation period shall not be granted more than once for any motor vehicle.

7. For the purposes of this subsection, any used motor vehicle will be considered to be one model year old on the first day of October of the next calendar year after the model year described on the vehicle title or registration, and shall increase in age by one year on the first day of each October thereafter.

F. Owners or operators of fleets, including fleets of government vehicles and sensitive mission vehicles, shall provide a report to the department annually containing information regarding vehicles operated in the program area sufficient to determine compliance with this chapter. The report shall contain information deemed necessary by the department to determine compliance. Such information shall include, but not be limited to, (i) number of vehicles, (ii) compliance method, and (iii) results of any inspections. Reports shall be in a format and according to a schedule acceptable to the department.

G. Manufacturers and distributors of emissions testing equipment are prohibited from directly or indirectly owning or operating any emissions testing facility or having any direct or indirect financial interest in any such facility other than the leasing of or providing financing for equipment related to emissions testing.

H. The provisions of this chapter, unless specified otherwise, apply only to those pollutants for which emission standards are set forth in Part III (9VAC5-91-160 et seq.) and Part XIV (9VAC5-91-790 et seq.).

I. Applicants for inspection station permits and emissions repair facility certificates shall have a Virginia business license and the application shall only be for a facility in Virginia.

J. By the adoption of this chapter, the board confers upon the department the administrative, enforcement and decision making authority enumerated herein.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 13, Issue 05, eff. January 24, 1997; amended, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 20, eff. October 1, 2002; Volume 29, Issue 09, eff. December 15, 2012; Volume 29, Issue 24, eff. August 28, 2013; Volume 31, Issue 23, eff. August 12, 2015.

Statutory Authority

§ 46.2-1180 of the Code of Virginia; § 182 of the Clean Air Act; 40 CFR Part 51, Subpart S.