Section 460.215  Official Portable Emissions Testing Companies

a)         To apply for an Official Portable Diesel Emissions Permit, applicants must submit a request, in writing, to the Department. Request shall be submitted to DOT.VehicleInspectionUnit@illinois.gov. Once the written request is received, a survey will be completed by an Inspector at the prospective OPETC's recordkeeping office for compliance of this Part. If the survey is approved, the applicant must submit Form BIC 1188, Application for Official Portable Diesel Emissions Permit.  The application shall include:

1)         A list of the year, make, model, and license plate number of each vehicle used to perform diesel emissions tests.

2)         A list of diesel emissions equipment which will be used to perform inspections.

3)         An affirmation that the testing equipment meets or exceeds the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1667 Snap Acceleration Smoke Test Standards.

4)         The physical address of the applicant's Illinois recordkeeping office.

5)         A $50 application fee paid through the electronic payment system established by the Department (i.e., Illinois ePay) made payable to: Treasurer, State of Illinois. This fee is nonrefundable.

b)         Prior to issuance of the Official Portable Diesel Emissions Permit, the applicant shall file a $10,000 bond with the Department with security provided by a bonding company in good standing with the Department of Insurance.  The bond form will be held by the Department.

c)         Recordkeeping Office

1)         OPETCs shall maintain a recordkeeping office within this State.

2)         Records shall be made available to the Department for inspection at the OPETC's recordkeeping office during normal business hours.

3)         If the OPETC's recordkeeping location is not open to the public (i.e., is not a location with normal business hours), records shall be made available to the Department for inspection upon the Department providing the OPETC at least 24 hours' notice of its intent to inspect records.

4)         The following records shall be maintained at the recordkeeping office:

A)        An inventory of validation certificates issued by the Department.

B)        Copies of CDET certificates.

C)        Records required to be kept under Section 460.330.

5)         The Department shall be notified in writing no later than seven days after any change in the location of the recordkeeping office.

d)         Diesel emission tests shall only occur at a vehicle owner/operator's place of business.

e)         OPETCs shall not perform diesel emissions inspections on fleets with less than 5 vehicles.

f)         The OPETC shall annually provide the Department with an updated list of vehicles it uses to perform diesel emissions tests, or sooner if requested by the Department.

g)         Each OPETC permitted to perform diesel emission inspections must have at least one CDET with a current and valid certificate.

h)         Every vehicle used by the OPETC to perform emissions testing shall have a folder containing copies of the Official Portable Diesel Emissions Permit and all CDET certificates.

i)          At the request of the Department, OPETCs must submit information on where inspections are scheduled.  The information must be submitted at least 48 hours prior to the date of inspection and include the following:

1)         Owner/Operator name;

2)         Date of inspection;

3)         Time of inspection;

4)         Physical address of where the emission tests will be performed; and

5)         Number of vehicles to be inspected.

(Source:  Added at 48 Ill. Reg. 16576, effective October 29, 2024)