Comment submitted by Just Inspections

I write as the owner/operator of Just Inspections, a station in Raleigh that solely does car inspections. I urge the EPA not to support elimination of state vehicle emissions inspection programs. Selfishly, I write this as a small business owner who will most likely have to close their business and let go of their staff when these changes are made. Since all we do are NC safety and Emission inspections, we get to inspect thousands of cars yearly and see some cars in truly unsafe/ harmful conditions (around 15,000 cars for 2025). Removing emission inspections would not only affect us, it affects all of Wake County and North Carolina as a whole. As a lifelong North Carolina resident I have always appreciated how our roads are maintained to help keep our cars and residents safe. Not only will stations and repair shops be taking in less money, North Carolina also loses $6.25 from every emission inspection, with the vast majority ($5.30) going towards much needed highway funds. Removing emission inspections would harm public health, air quality, enforcement integrity, and local economies, and would disproportionately impact vulnerable communities. Emission inspections deter tampering and fraud. Eliminating or Replacing them with less frequent or voluntary measures would reduce compliance and make enforcement more resource-intensive and less effective. Emission Inspections find malfunctioning emission controls early; without them, vehicles remain high emitters longer, increasing cumulative pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Emission Inspections support local small businesses (inspection stations, repair shops). Ending the program would eliminate jobs and revenue and likely worsen air-quality burdens for low-income and frontline communities who are more likely to own older, higher-emitting vehicles. While Air quality has improved in the Raleigh area, there are few places in the country that are growing as fast as Raleigh. The city just increased to over half a million residents, while Wake county residents total almost 1.3 million, these numbers show no signs of slowing down. Eliminating NC’s emissions inspection program for regulatory convenience would forfeit proven air-quality and public-health benefits, weaken enforcement, remove critical data, and harm small businesses and vulnerable communities. I urge the EPA to prioritize modernization, rather than wholesale elimination. Thank you for your time, Alexander Spangenberg Owner/Operator Just Inspections Raleigh, NC, 27610