9. Environmental Compliance

9.1 Georgia Motor Vehicle Emission Inspection and Maintenance Act

O.C.G.A. § 12-9-40 establishes the Georgia Motor Vehicle Emission Inspection and Maintenance Act. This act applies to state vehicles in the following counties: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale.

Agencies should refer to Georgia Comp. R. & Regs.391-3-20 (Rules and Regulations promulgated by the Department of Natural Resources) for pertinent exemptions.

General information regarding Georgia’s Inspection and Maintenance program is located at www.cleanairforce.com. This site should be checked for answers to questions that might arise regarding this program.

9.1.1 Vehicles Required for Emissions Testing

The requirement for emissions testing applies to the following classes of gasoline-powered vehicles registered in the covered counties.

a) All light duty vehicles 24 model years old and newer.

b) All light duty trucks 24 model years old and newer with a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 pounds or less.

c) The three most recent model year vehicles are exempt from emission testing each year. For registration in 2011, this includes all 2009 and newer model year vehicles. Vehicles that are capable of being operated on both gasoline and any alternate fuel are covered by the inspection requirement and shall be tested on gasoline.

d) Additionally, vehicles that are 25 model years or older are exempt from emission testing.

9.1.2 Test Period and the Recording of Testing

An emission inspection is valid for 12 months. Agency fleet Managers must verify that inspections are accomplished according to the alphabetical schedule below. The first alpha character of the agency name that appears first on your vehicle’s title and/or tag registration certificate (tag receipt) determines the month designated as your inspection period. It is imperative that vehicle emission inspections are performed by the deadline on an annual basis.

ALPHA CHARACTER MONTH

A or B January

C or D February

E or F March

G or H April

I or J May

K or L June

M or N July

O or P August

Q or R September

S or T October

U, V, or W November

X, Y, or Z December

9.2 Alternative Fueled Vehicle Program

The U.S. Congress passed the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) in 1992. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuel Transportation Program was codified in 10 CFR Part 490. State agencies must determine if their fleet is covered by these provisions and take certain steps to comply if the agency fleet is covered.

EPAct Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) requirements apply if the agency owns, operates, leases, or otherwise controls 50 or more Light Duty Vehicles (LDVs) in the United States that are not on the list of excluded vehicles.

Excluded vehicles include: • Law enforcement vehicles

Emergency vehicles, including vehicles directly used in the emergency repair of transmission lines and in the restoration of electricity service following power outages
Non-road vehicles
Vehicles that, when not in use, are normally parked at the personal residences of the individuals who usually operate them, rather than at a central refueling, maintenance, or business location. (e.g. MV-1 Overnight Assigned vehicles)

Twenty of these 50 LDVs are used primarily within any consolidated metropolitan statistical area in Georgia as shown below:

GEORGIA METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS COVERED BY EPACT

Atlanta Area MSA	Atlanta Area MSA	Augusta Area MSA	Columbus Area MSA	Macon Area MSA	Chattanooga Area MSA
Barrow	Fulton	Columbia	Chattahoochee	Bibb	Catoosa
Bartow	Gwinnett	Richmond	Harris	Houston	Dade
Carroll	Henry		Muscogee	Jones	Walker
Cherokee	Newton			Peach
Clayton	Paulding			Twiggs
Cobb	Pickens
Coweta	Rockdale
DeKalb	Spalding
Douglas	Walton
Fayette
Forsyth

9.2.1 Agency Compliance Criteria

Covered fleets must have a 75 percent AFV percentage acquisition for a model year. Model year runs from September 1 through August 31 of the following year. To determine the total alternative fueled vehicles acquisition requirements for the model year, multiply the total vehicles acquired during the model year (this is the total number of LDVs, including AFVs and conventional vehicles, purchased or leased by the agency during the reporting model year by 75 percent. Fractions greater than or equal to one half (0.5) should be rounded up; fractions less than 0.5 should be rounded down. (Simply stated, if you purchase four LDVs during the model year, three must be AFVs, if you purchase three, two must be AFV’s, and if you purchase two or only one, each vehicle must be an AFV.).

9.2.2 Agency Reporting Requirements

As the reporting format may vary from year to year, OFM will use the Fleet Management System Inventory to determine those agencies that are within the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) that are covered by EPAct. OFM will create and submit the report to the Department of Energy. Should OFM have questions regarding the compliancy of an agency’s fleet as it relates to the EPAct compliancy, OFM will contact the Agency Fleet Manager. The annual report is due by December 31 after the end of the model year.