State Lawmaker Wants To End Federal Emissions Testing In Northwest Indiana

MUNSTER, Ind. (AP) — A state lawmaker wants to end emissions testing in northwest Indiana, saying it's not fair that Lake and Porter counties are lumped in with metropolitan Chicago.

The state Senate agrees with state Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, recently approving Senate Resolution 12 calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to revise or eliminate the requirement that motorists from those two counties participate in a vehicle inspection and maintenance program.

Niemeyer told The (Munster) Times Illinois pollution is caused by thousands of out-of-state trucks daily passing through on the Borman Expressway and Interstate 65.

Niemeyer says he plans to ask Congress to override the EPA if it insists on continued emissions testing for those two counties, noting that no other drivers in Indiana are required to have their vehicle emissions tested.