Weld County Fights Air Quality Emissions Test Requirement

Weld County officials are up in arms over a requirement that northern Colorado vehicle owners go though the same tailpipe emissions tests used in the Denver area. The new testing program, mandated by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission, is set to go into effect Nov. 1.

The Weld County Board of Commissioners is looking to repeal the decision. If rollback efforts fail, Weld County Sheriff John Cooke said he will tell his deputies not to ticket motorists for just failing the emissions test.

"My deputies don't have time to enforce something like this," Cooke said. "They've got better things to do."

"I'll tell them to use their best judgment and not necessarily write that ticket," Cooke said. "It's already affecting the poorest people in this community, and I would rather have the person going to work rather than trying to run around and come up with $800 to fix his car."

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