The Lake County Council recently filed a lawsuit against Gov. Eric Holcomb and Attorney General Todd Rokita to eliminate emissions testing in Lake County, stating it’s unfair only Northwest Indiana counties require emissions testing.

The two-page complaint, which lists all seven council members as plaintiffs, argues that the state only requires vehicles in Lake and Porter counties to undergo emissions testing while “more than 70 counties in Indiana with poorer air quality than that of Lake County” don’t require emissions tests.

The lawsuit states that the state requirement is unconstitutional because “it violates the equal protection and due process guarantees” of the 14th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.

“We’re not suggesting that clean air is a bad thing, but if the state determines that testing ensures clean air, then we all should do it,” Gerald Bishop, the attorney representing the Lake County Council, said. “That’s the focus of it, to make sure we’re all treated equally.”

Representatives from the governor’s office and the attorney general’s office declined to comment.

The USA.com Indiana Air Quality Index County Rank has been submitted with the lawsuit, which ranks Lake County in 77th place of 92 counties from worst to best air quality.

But, across the country, USA.com ranks Indiana as a tie for fifth place with Tennessee in ranking state air quality from worst to best. The state’s air quality ranking is 47.5, and a score of 50 and below is considered “good.”

The state with the best air quality is Hawaii, with a 21.2 ranking, according to USA.com.

The American Lung Association’s most recent State of the Air report card found that Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties all received an “F” grade for high ozone days and Lake County received a “C” grade for particle pollution, while Porter County received a “B” and LaPorte received an “A” in the same category.

Council President Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, and Councilman Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, both said that the council is continuing the work of Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, who proposed legislation to rethink emissions testing but hasn’t become law.

Bilski said the lawsuit questions the need for emissions testing, which he described as an inconvenience.

When emissions testing requirement was enacted, it likely stemmed from the steel mills in the area operating at a higher capacity and more traffic moving through the area.

When vehicles travel through Northwest Indiana, Bilski said it seems unfair that vehicles that just pass through may not be required to get emissions tested while Lake County residents do.

“No one wants to do anything jeopardizing the air quality, but there’s 92 counties in the state and there are more than 70 other counties that are producing more emissions than we are,” Bilski said.

Dernulc agreed, saying constituents in his area have questioned the need for emissions testing. Cars are becoming cleaner and more efficient, he said.

“It’s an issue of why do we have to do this and others don’t and people still drive through our area,” Dernulc said.

If the state proves that emission testing is needed “to continue to reduce emissions in the air” then the tests will remain, Bilski said. But, if the county can prove it isn’t needed, then “a burden” is removed from Lake County residents, he said.