For Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) Residents only:

March 3, 2012 - the MOA I/M Program is suspended as of this date. Vehicle inspections are no longer required for the Municipality of Anchorage.

• Federal Register Notice (PDF) (10JAN12) - EPA approved Alaska’s SIP revision that removed the I/M program as an active control measure for CO in Anchorage and moved it to the contingency measures portion of the SIP.
• Emission Testing Comes to an End (PDF) - KTVA, by Alexis Fernandez, Anchorage

01/13/12, DEC Online Public Notice (PDF), Suspension of the Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Program, Municipality of Anchorage Alaska. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 issued, on January 10, 2012, notice in the federal register of a final rule approving revisions to Alaska's State Implementation Plan (SIP) relating to the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program (I/M Program) for control of carbon monoxide (CO) in Anchorage. Those revisions discontinue the I/M Program as an active control measure... ****See details in the body of the notice.

01/12/12, Anchorage Daily News (PDF), Mayor calls for end of I/M even before deadline, by Kyle Hopkins. The I/M program that requires Anchorage drivers to pay for an emissions test that the Environmental Protection Agency says is no longer necessary may end even sooner than you think.****See details in article.

01/11/12, Anchorage Daily News (PDF), Agency approves end of emissions testing, by The Associated Press, ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The federal Environmental Protection Agency has approved ending Anchorage's vehicle emissions testing program.****See details in article.

After long debate, Assembly votes to keep I/M testing, by Terry Carr. The program was scheduled to end December 2009, but the decision was reversed by a new Assembly.

10/30/05, Anchorage Daily News (PDF), I/M program's effects studied; SUCCESS: City air quality has improved; Did the testing help? by Doug O'Harra. To measure how well the city's Inspection and Maintenance Program cuts carbon monoxide in winter, the city plans to test at least 200 vehicles. **** See details in article.

7/30/03 DEC Press Release (PDF): ANCHORAGE AIR QUALITY CONTINUES TO IMPROVE, DEC SUSPENDS ETHANOL PROGRAM. For the last six years, Anchorage has measured full compliance with the health standard for carbon monoxide and projections show continued attainment without ethanol. **** See details in press release.

For Fairbanks North Star Borough Residents only:

January 1, 2010 - The Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) I/M Program has been suspended as of this date.

Several years ago, the FNSB requested the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) approve their request to end the FNSB I/M Program. DEC, after careful consideration, agreed with the FNSB that suspension of the I/M program would not adversely affect the carbon monoxide maintenance status of the Borough. The State Implementation Plan (SIP) was updated and submitted to EPA for their approval on June 5, 2008. The FNSB Assembly, in the spring of 2009, gave their approval for ending the I/M program on December 31, 2009.

After much deliberation, in December 2009, EPA finalized their approval for discontinuing the Fairbanks Inspection and Maintenance Program as an active control measure in the SIP, allowing the FNSB I/M Program suspension on January 1, 2010. The I/M Program was shifted to a contingency measure in the SIP, meaning if, in the future, carbon monoxide problems return within the FNSB, the I/M Program will be an option for control.

Portions of the April 2008 SIP (PDF) - details the FNSB I/M Program suspension.

The entire SIP may be found on the State Air Quality Control Plan webpage.