Dan McCabe

October 26, 2007

Last month, Vermont made national headlines when Judge William K. Sessions III ruled in favor of the State and its green house gas emissions standards in Green Mountain Chrysler v. Crombie. Traditionally, emissions regulation dealt with limiting the amount of carbon monoxide ("CO"), hydrocarbons ("HC"), and oxides of nitrogen ("NOx") that cars produce. The new standards take the next step, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from automobiles. Carbon dioxide is created when the catalytic converter breaks apart and reconfigures the CO, NOx and HC. The most feasible way to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions is to increase the cars' miles per gallon.

The recent decision may force the auto manufacturers to develop innovative technologies that reduce emissions in order to comply with the new regulations. As emissions control systems become more advanced and more complicated, it becomes imperative that they are operating correctly in order to assure that emissions standards are being met. New designs that increase efficiency will also be more complex to maintain and require more specialized training for maintenance technicians.

Vermont Technical College and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation have teamed up to create the Vermont Center for Emissions Repair and Technician Training (VCERTT) to give Vermont's automotive technicians the training they need to keep emissions' systems operating properly. The collaboration, beginning in 2002, held its most recent round of trainings on October 17th and 18th in Burlington. Professors from Weber State University led the trainings and highlighted the challenges with diagnosing the systems that manufacturers are using to comply with emissions laws. Tom Moye, one of the State's testifying witnesses in Green Mountain Chrysler v. Crombie, was also at the training giving insight on how different engine components affect vehicle emissions.

The importance of proper vehicle maintenance was stressed throughout the training and case studies were introduced to illustrate the speed in which emissions systems can be compromised. Oxygen sensors can easily be damaged because of exhausted engine oil and catalytic converters can be ruined in less than forty-five seconds because of a single cylinder misfire. In order to avoid damage to emission systems, and costly repairs, manufactures' maintenance guidelines need to be followed and "Check Engine" lights need to be checked by experienced technicians.

The trainings further illustrate Vermont's awareness of environmental issues and took place on the same day, and at the same location, as the 2007 Vermont Renewable Energy Conference.

Sources:

Green Mountain Chrysler v. Crombie, No. 2:05cv302 (D.Vt. 2007), available at http://www.vtd.uscourts.gov/Cases/05cv302.html.

General Motors Corp, Exhaust Systems Engineering AC Spark Division, AC Catalytic Converter Manual app. F (1997).

Vermont Center for Emissions Repair and Technician Training Home Page, http://www.vcertt.org/.

VCERTT, OBDII Oxygen Sensors, Air Fuel Ratio Sensors, and Catalytic Converters, Oct. 17, 2007.

Candace Page, Vermont Emissions Decision Could Have National Impact, Burlington Free Press, Sept. 17, 2007, available at http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070917/NEWS01/709170308/-1/GREEN&theme=ENERGY.

Julia Horrocks, The District Court of Vermont Upholds State Regulation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Motor Vehicles, Sept. 18, 2007, at http://www.vjel.org/news/NEWS100087.html (providing information on the impact of Judge Sessions decision in Green Mountain Chrysler v. Crombie and on other issues surrounding the decision).