EPA: Ruling on car inspections will take many months

The EPA says it will have a proposed response in a few months on New Hampshire’s request to end car inspections and will give its final decision by the end of the year, the latest step in this confusing saga over the legal status of inspections.

The uncertainty began after the state legislature passed and Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed a bill ending inspections before getting a waiver from the EPA, allowing the state to stop emission inspections that are required under the Clean Air Act. That might not have mattered much until Gordon-Darby Inc., the company that administers the program in the state, sued and a federal judge agreed, ruling that New Hampshire had to keep inspecting vehicles until it gets an EPA waiver.

New Hampshire has appealed the ruling and told drivers they don’t need to get an inspection any more and terminated their contract with Gordon-Darby. The company recently went back and asked the federal judge to sanction the state for canceling inspections.

New Hampshire had requested the EPA waiver, but that usually takes up to 18 months, according to EPA statements. The agency said Monday it will speed up the process.

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