After much debate, some deferment and a few data presentations, members of the Weber-Morgan Board of Health said they’ll likely make a decision on diesel emissions testing this month.

The question is whether to treat medium to light-duty diesel vehicles the same as gas vehicles in Weber County. The board’s vote could require them to submit to emissions tests before registration. The move has weighed heavily on the board since at least February 2015.

Proponents of a diesel program said it was a low-cost step, albeit a small one, in cracking down on air quality issues plaguing the Wasatch Front.

Skeptics said there wasn’t enough information to prove diesel regulations would put a sufficient dent in the pollution problem, creating an unnecessary burden for diesel-owning citizens.

A majority of the board’s 11 members would need to vote in favor of a diesel testing program for it to pass. And a majority of the board — all elected officials with no backgrounds in science or health — previously expressed apprehension.

But some perspectives seem to have shifted.

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After hearing the opinions of air quality officials with the state and other counties, and listening to presentations on diesel pollution data, Logan Wilde, chairman of the health board, said it’s likely a testing program will pass at their next meeting.

“That’s the direction the whole board is leaning,” he said.

The next health board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 22, although the health department has yet to post notice — usually the agenda is posted sometime during the week before the meeting. Although it’s not on an agenda yet, Weber County Commissioner James Ebert, also a health board member, said there’s been enough discussion on the issue.

“I think it’s going to come to a vote,” he said. “There’s been enough data presented so those on the board can make an informed decision.”

Month by month, the health board has seen larger turnouts from citizens at public meetings. Those citizens have mostly spoken in support of diesel emissions testing in the county. 

Ebert wouldn’t confirm whether he’d vote for or against a testing program, but said when the community expresses strong feelings about a policy, “you take that into your decision.”

“There’s been a lot of things written about the politics of it, there’s been a lot of things written about anti-air quality and anti-diesel testing,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s reflective of the board as a whole. The attempt, from the board’s perspective, was to collect as much information as we could … to make very best decision.”

Weber-Morgan Health Board meetings are typically held at 4 p.m. the fourth Monday of every month at 477 23rd St., Ogden.

Contact Reporter Leia Larsen at 801-625-4289 or llarsen@standard.net. Follow her on Facebook.com/leiaoutside or on Twitter @LeiaLarsen.