NASHVILLE — The effort to end mandatory vehicle emissions testing programs in Hamilton County and four Middle Tennessee counties took a major step this week after state officials submitted scientific documents to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in hopes of winning approval.

"These packages represent the State's request to EPA to remove the emissions testing program from the State Implementation Program under the Clean Air Act," said Eric Ward, spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation in response to a Times Free Press inquiry on Friday.

The submission was made Thursday, and EPA will have up to 18 months to act on the request. The burden is on the state to demonstrate how it can maintain compliance with federal ozone and particulate emission standards without emissions testing.

If federal regulators approve the request, a 2018 state law sponsored by Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, and Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, provides that vehicle emissions testing programs would end 120 days later in Hamilton as well as Sumner, Wilson, Rutherford and Williamson counties in Middle Tennessee.

Davidson County was excluded from the law at the request of Metro Nashville officials.

'We're just delighted'

Carter said in an interview "we're just delighted" the formal request and documentation has gone out to the EPA. "It's another step toward the closing [of the testing program]. It's an essential step, but we're getting there."

Earlier Friday, House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, said in a tweet the state's Air Pollution Control Board voted "to send all of our science we have accumulated over the past, really, 18 months on air quality in Tennessee to the federal government so that we can finally end emissions testing in Sumner County and throughout Tennessee."

Lamberth said, "our air quality is in extraordinarily great position. It's very, very clean and because of that, we can finally get rid of this vicious testing program that has been such a burden on all Tennesseans."

That drew applause from Watson, who tweeted, "I've been proud to have teamed up @RepMikeCarter and the rest of the Hamilton County delegation to repeal the Emissions Law. Been working on this since 2005. Happy to see another step toward elimination."

In response to Times Free Press questions, TDEC spokesman Ward confirmed the board had approved the submission Wednesday and, moreover, that TDEC officials formally submitted it to the EPA on Thursday.

There's some hope federal officials may act well before the 18-month period on the issue, with the state having shared preliminary documents with EPA.

Vehicle emissions testing has been a big issue among Tennesseans who dislike paying the $9 or so fee for testing. Even more so costs that can run into hundreds of dollars or more to fix vehicles that failed inspections.

It's an especially sensitive issue for lower-income vehicle owners, with dozens of people across the state emailing or phoning the Times Free Press over the years describing their financial burdens to repair their cars and trucks. Small business owners don't like it, either.

A problematic move?

Scott Banbury with the Sierra Club's Tennessee Chapter said if Tennessee's request is approved, it could create problems for Hamilton, Rutherford and the other counties.

"They're meeting national ambient air quality standard requirements," he said. "And now without vehicle emissions testing, it will either have to be made up in stricter point source pollution regulation, or they just won't have the capacity to have new industries come in."

Banbury said the "only reason Memphis was able to get out from under this stuff was that we lost two major coal boilers. There was one operating at Archer Daniels Midland and there was a TVA coal plant. It was only after those two were gone that we actually had so much room in terms of our compliance that we were able to give up vehicle emissions testing and still have capacity for new industry."

Knox County was able to give up vehicle emissions testing after rerouting most tractor-trailer traffic away from the city, Banbury added.

But Watson and Carter note cars and light trucks have far more efficient pollution control devices.

Lamberth told the Times Free Press that the Tennessee Valley Authority's $1 billion expenditure to upgrade the federal utility's Gallatin Fossil Plant has made major improvements in the Middle Tennessee area.

Health groups note that ozone, often referred to as smog, and particulate pollutants can cause serious heart and lung problems.

Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.