(A) The Board, with the cooperation of the city, the county and the Director and staff, shall design and adopt regulations for a program for the mandatory biennial exhaust emission inspection of motor vehicles.
(B) Inspection stations shall be authorized and approved by the Director if they are in compliance with the Board's regulations pursuant to this article. Emissions inspectors shall be certified by the Director if they are in compliance with Board regulations pursuant to this article.
(C) Each certified station shall be required to place a sign suitable for prominent display at a location closest to the nearest thoroughfare that is in conformance with the Board's regulations and which includes the amount to be charged for the inspection with said price being displayed by using a minimum of three-inch letters.
(D) Inspections are required under this article and as specified by Board regulation. Such inspections shall only be performed by certified emission inspectors according to the following in order of precedence as established by the Board:
(1) All motor vehicles covered by this article shall be subject to and pass a visual inspection for the presence and operational condition of any fuel filler neck restrictor, catalytic converter, oxygen sensor, air pump or air aspiration system if originally installed on the motor vehicle by the manufacturer, or which equipment has been subsequently replaced with equipment of identical or superior quality, or manufacturer's aftermarket parts that have been tested and approved according to EPA procedure.
(2) For all motor vehicles covered by this article, an analysis of tail pipe exhaust emissions by means of an idle mode test as defined by the Board's regulations, including the following as applicable to the type of engine which propels the vehicle or class of vehicle being tested:
(a) A determination according to Board-established criteria that the vehicle's engine is functioning correctly with respect to the level of carbon monoxide and any other pollutant that may affect the carbon monoxide control system efficiency, by analyzing and measuring the vehicle's exhaust emissions using an exhaust gas analyzer. Such analyzer shall be of the nondispersive infrared type for sensing the amount of air contaminants, including carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, in the exhaust emissions of the motor vehicle. Approved equipment shall minimally include computer operation with a non-maintenance and tampering lockout feature, restriction of operation until the unit is fully warm, provision for automated gas span and leak checks, acceptance of vehicle ID and other information including tampering inspection results, automatic capability of pass-fail decisions, provision of a hard copy printout (which can include diagnostic information), and storage capability of pertinent data on magnetic tape for program analysis and enforcement purposes. The Board shall issue an analyzer specification that meets EPA's definition of a computerized emission analyzer.
(3) A determination according to Board-established criteria that the vehicle's exhaust system is without significant leakage from the engine block exhaust ports to the end opening of the tailpipe.
(4) For all motor vehicles which are designed for operation with unleaded fuel only, a determination made by inspection criteria established by Board Regulations that misfueling with leaded fuel has not contaminated the catalytic exhaust emissions control device. This determination is commonly referred to as a lead litmus test.
(E) A written explanation may be provided to the person submitting the vehicle for inspection disclosing the probable cause of any malfunction or misadjustment responsible for the vehicle's failure to comply with the Board's regulations.
(F) The schedule of inspection and compliance extension shall be as follows:
(1) Motor vehicles shall be tested biennially on a schedule established by the Board for compliance of their exhaust emissions and all required pollution control devices in accordance with the Board's regulations. This provision notwithstanding, new motor vehicles shall be exempt from inspection following registration for the first 12 months of a new vehicle's operation as determined by the date of its manufacturer's certificate of origin.
(2) Upon a motor vehicle's failure to meet Board's regulations, the vehicle owner may get a low emissions tuneup and/or replace required pollution control devices and then reinspection of the vehicle.
(3) If the low emissions tuneup fails to bring that motor vehicle's exhaust emissions into compliance with the Board's criteria providing that required pollution control devices are properly installed and functioning, the vehicle's owner may be eligible to receive a special time extension as determined by the Director for that vehicle of up to 12 months to get necessary repairs and reinspection of the vehicle which demonstrates compliance, provided the extension is requested in writing from the Director within ten days of reinspection. No vehicle may receive more than one time extension prior to re-registration. If a vehicle is sold within the 12-month extension period, it terminates the extension and the vehicle may not be issued a compliance certificate in Bernalillo County until its exhaust emission control devices and exhaust emissions comply with the Board's regulatory requirements.
(G) The biennial motor vehicle emissions inspection-maintenance program herein created shall commence regular operation on December 1, 1987, or as soon as possible thereafter. The Board in cooperation with the Motor Vehicle Department shall determine the dates when proof of compliance will be required for registration and re-registration.
('74 Code, § 9-1-4) (Ord. 47-1987; Am. Ord. 33-1988; Am. Ord. 24-1989; Am. Ord. 32-1989)