Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has ordered the state EPA to begin the formal process of ending E-Check vehicle emissions testing in Northeast Ohio, following the U.S. EPA's June redesignation of the Cleveland region as in attainment for all federal air quality standards.

The affected region covers seven counties: Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Summit. Vehicles there have faced biennial emissions testing since 1996, when the state launched its E-Check system to comply with a federal mandate ordering testing in the Cleveland area in the late 1980s.

"Decades of work to reduce pollution have finally paid off to the extent that we no longer believe E-Check is needed to maintain federal air quality standards in Northeast Ohio," DeWine, a Republican, said in the Tuesday announcement.

The state cannot simply switch the program off. Ending E-Check requires approval from U.S. EPA, and the governor has directed the state agency to start seeking that approval now. The timeline is concrete: the Ohio EPA will open a public comment period on the termination proposal in October, hold a public meeting in November, and then — after reviewing the comments — submit its formal request to U.S. EPA before the end of the year.

The regulatory foundation for the move came in June, when U.S. EPA determined that Northeast Ohio's ground-level ozone readings had fallen below the federal limits set in 2015. The region had been designated "nonattainment" in 2018 after monitoring showed ozone levels above those limits.

The emissions data behind the redesignation shows substantial cuts in the two pollutant families that form tropospheric ozone — oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) — which react in sunlight. According to the federal agency, NOx emissions fell 42 percent and VOC emissions fell 25 percent between 2015 and the 2023–2025 review period. Sources of those chemicals include automobiles, power plants, chemical producers and refineries.

"Ohio EPA has worked for decades with communities and businesses to improve air quality," Ohio EPA Director John Logue said in the release. "With the region now meeting federal air quality standards, we're ready to take the next steps in this process while ensuring those improvements continue in the years to come."

Attainment status carries practical consequences beyond the testing lanes. Rep. Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green, a member of the Environment Subcommittee on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, framed the June redesignation as a permitting win for the region.

"EPA's decision to redesignate the Cleveland area to attainment for ozone shows the commitment Ohioans have to ensuring Northeast Ohio and the surrounding areas have clean air," Latta said in June. "By working together to cut pollutants that create ozone over the past several years, Northeast Ohio will be able to secure more predictable and timely air permits, while maintaining clean air standards."

The redesignation does not end Ohio's obligations. Federal law requires the state to implement a 10-year maintenance plan to preserve attainment status and continue reducing ground-level ozone in the region. U.S. EPA set the deadline for Ohio's State Implementation Plan at Dec. 6.

That SIP deadline and U.S. EPA's decision on the termination request will determine whether the 29-year-old E-Check program actually ends — and on what schedule. Ohio hopes to file its request before year-end, putting the final call with the federal regulator in early 2026.