Oregon adopting CARB standards...

[Martin]

I'm a member of SEMA, and I just got this note emailed to me. Not sure what it really means in the short-term, but I have a feeling that we're going to be feeling the same pain that California car enthusiasts have felt for years - non-CARB parts will either not be available for sale on street-driven cars, or they'll cause you to fail the smog test...

Oregon
Aftermarket Parts: The governor of Oregon signed into law an alternative to legislation that originally sought to prohibit the sale and distribution of aftermarket motor-vehicle parts if alternatives are available that “decrease greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.” Under the alternative, negotiated between the SAN and environmental regulators, the new law will only allow the state to adopt the present California certification process for aftermarket emissions-related parts, allowing parts manufacturers to meet one uniform standard, rather than a patchwork of multiple state standards.

 

[rcl4668]

Thanks for the alert Martin; nothing about Gov. Kulongowski signing this in the mainstream media (Oregonian, etc.) but that isn't too surprising. If you get any more alerts through the SEMA network please keep us posted.

/Rich

 

[Martin]

I wouldn't have known about it, either - but the SEMA Action Network guys are pretty good at staying on top of these things. I really hope that OR smog tests don't start going the same direction as the CA tests go. It's so nice and straightforward now - and throwing that visual inspection into the works just introduces so much subjectivity that it makes it almost stupid. A car with no CARB numbers can be cleaner than one with CARB numbers, but if the guy doing the test takes the time to look and doesn't see the CARB certs, guess who's going to fail? And, when new stuff comes out and has a CARB number on it but that number hasn't made it into the smog guys' database, you have to sit there for an hour while he phones all the appropriate people to sort it out. What a useless pain in the ass...

 

[KenH]

Definitely keep us posted if you hear more. I agree that OR DEQ is pretty well done and I think a reasonable approach to air quality. All they can do is screw it up from here.

 

[KenH]

Here is more detailed info on the bill that was signed: HB 2186 :: Oregon Legislature Bill Tracker - Your Government - The Oregonian

It appears to be mainly targeted toward medium and heavy duty trucks and tires specifically. Unfortunately things are worded vaguely enough, as they usually are, that they could apply the same rules to other motor vehicles besides cargo trucks. This passage creates the most concern

(d) Restrictions and prohibitions on the sale and distribution
of after-market motor vehicle parts, including but not limited to
tires, if alternatives are available that decrease greenhouse gas
emissions from motor vehicles;

 

[rcl4668]

Thanks Ken.

/Rich