OxfordPress.com

HAMILTON — Could the much-maligned Ohio E-check be coming back to tailpipes in Butler and Warren counties? It could depend on the weather.

In response to a federal lawsuit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is revising its classifications of areas that meet or exceed ozone standards.

A draft proposal scheduled to come out this summer would raise Greater Cincinnati's classification, including Butler and Warren counties, to the same level as Cleveland's, according to Alison Davis, air quality advisor for the U.S. EPA.

This would require emissions inspections and maintenance, such as tailpipe testing, she said.

But there will be resistance on the state and local levels, predicts Bill Hayes, a Cincinnati attorney specializing in air quality issues. And he said the EPA would be hard-pressed to push the E-Check too hard.

"Just because of the experience everybody has had with E-Check, I don't see EPA wanting to force them," he said.

Hayes said the reclassification could come at a cost far outweighing inconvenience. In addition to monitoring car emissions, areas in nonattainment have heavy restrictions on industry, which could scare away potential employers.

Most importantly, Hayes said, state efforts to improve ozone levels by regulating what goes into consumer products appears to be working.

Area air quality is improving, according to Sarah Dowers, spokeswoman for Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services, which is contracted to monitor air quality in Butler and Warren counties.

"Believe it or not, the air quality continues to improve, and that can be for a whole host of reasons," she said.

In summer 2008, Hamilton's ozone levels only rose to levels of concerns once. Middletown had seven ozone alert days and Lebanon had 12, Dowers said.

And the argument to stave off the E-Check would be greatly bolstered by low ozone levels this summer, Hayes said, which will depend largely on the weather.

"If the weather doesn't cooperate or it's really hot, it's kind of inevitable you're going to have bad air quality," said Dowers.

U.S. EPA officials said they will listen to state and local input, and their primary concern is ensuring clean air for residents.

Ohio EPA Spokeswoman Heidi Griesmer said even if inspection and maintenance become required, that may not include the E-Check. State lawmakers give the Ohio EPA the authority to administer E-Check only where federally mandated.

Little of the area's pollution is locally produced, Hayes said.

"You're getting punished in a sense by the air quality from Cincinnati or all the transportation of people driving through," he said.