“It could be very impactful if this goes through,” Wild said.
East-West Gateway officials are looking at reformulating their air modeling in order to try and keep the region in federal compliance.
“It’s really just trying to manage risk at this point,” Wild said.
Republican lawmakers who represent St. Louis suburbs have supported ending the emissions tests for years. Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, who pushed the measure this year, said during debate this spring that he didn’t expect the EPA to take any action against the state. Senate Majority Leader Dave Schatz, who represents much of Franklin County, also said this year he was “ready to call their bluff.”
Franklin County Presiding Commissioner Tim Brinker, who sits on the board, said the emission testing was an “encumbrance” on his residents’ “pocketbooks” and “daily lives.”
“Quite frankly, the constituents of our three counties are in favor of this legislation,” he said.
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, also a member of the board, warned the region could be testing the federal government just as “the biggest infusion of capital in a generation” becomes available. “I’m really not being interested in being on a list of communities” out of compliance with federal environmental rules while St. Louis competes for potential federal dollars should Congress pass a major infrastructure bill, Page said.
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Originally Appeared Here