Update: Efforts to remove eighteen counties from the I/M Program

The removal of eighteen counties from the Inspection and Maintenance program was enacted in Section 12.7 of Session Law (S.L.) 2023-134 (House Bill 259) of the 2023 session of the North Carolina General Assembly effective October 3, 2023. These counties are Alamance, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Cumberland, Davidson, Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, New Hanover, Randolph, Rowan, Union, and Wake counties. 

Note: All counties will still require the annual safety inspection.

Mecklenburg County remains subject to the I&M program and for this county, S.L. 2023-134 changed the definition of a vehicle subject to an emissions inspection to a vehicle with a model year within 20 years of the current year and earlier than the 2017 model year.

Next Steps

Before North Carolina can remove these counties from the Inspection and Maintenance program, DEQ's Division of Air Quality has twelve months to submit to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval the revised I&M State Implementation Plan (SIP) and Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 110(l) noninterference demonstration to remove the eighteen counties from the I&M program.  

• DAQ completes and submits the revised I&M State Implementation Plan (SIP) and Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 110(l) noninterference demonstration to EPA by October 3, 2024.
• EPA has up to 18 months to complete final approval.
• EPA will publish a notice in the Federal Register proposing to approve the revised I&M State Implementation Plan and CAA Section 110(l) noninterference demonstration to remove the three counties from the I&M program and will take public comments on the proposal for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
• EPA will publish its final approval in the Federal Register addressing any public comments received.
• The DEQ Secretary will submit a certification letter of the SIP approval by EPA to the Revisor of Statutes after the final EPA approval is published in the Federal Register.
• The Division of Motor Vehicles must implement the program changes on the first day of a month that is 60 days after the DEQ Secretary certifies to the Revisor of Statutes that EPA has approved the amendment to the SIP.