Summary: The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) inspection and maintenance (IM) and in-use compliance programs (IUCP) have made little progress in the control of automobile emissions.
EPA does not require most states to include inspection and maintenance programs for on-the-road vehicles. In the 17 states and the District of Columbia where IM programs were to be established, progress has been minimal. State and local governments have been reluctant to promote IM programs, and total funding for such programs has been minimal. Several states have challenged the government's authority to require them to carry out IM programs. Under the 1972 IUCP, 3,000 vehicles were tested at a cost of about $2.1 million. EPA decided that the data from the 1972 program did not support a recall of the five classes of engines that should be considered for recall. The 1972 IUCP program was inadequate because: (1) the program did not fully anticipate data needed to support a recall; (2) EPA did limited monitoring of the contractors' test activities; and (3) a detailed review of test data was not made until all tests were completed.
