I&M Program Follow-Up

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) progress in implementing enhanced inspection and maintenance (I&M) programs under the Clean Air Act. GAO noted that: (1) EPA progress in implementing enhanced I&M programs has been slower than expected; (2) if EPA had met the implementation schedule, it would have approved or disapproved all state implementation plan revisions by May 1994; (3) as of August 1994, only 1 of 23 states received EPA approval of their enhanced I&M implementation plans; (4) although EPA has proposed conditional approval for 5 state implementation plans and is reviewing 2 other plan submissions, 15 states have not yet submitted complete implementation plan revisions; (5) EPA has deleted the option from its final I&M rule that would have allowed states to use enhanced test-and-repair programs in place of test-only programs to reduce emissions; (6) EPA and state program officials have not resolved the problem of test-and-repair ineffectiveness; and (7) EPA believes that allowing states to pursue a test-and-repair option would delay the implementation of effective I&M programs, increase costs, and create confusion and more hardship than test-only programs.