The Cache County Council voted to allow the use of air-pollution-control (APC) fee funds to support a local vehicle repair and replacement assistance program aimed at residents unable to afford emissions repairs or vehicle replacement.

Jordan Mathis, director of the Bear River Health Department, presented the board’s recommendation to reappoint Randy Williams to the local Board of Health and then turned the floor over to Jonathan Robinson, who described two vehicle-emissions programs: the federal- and state-supported Beehive emissions reduction program (which focuses on electrification) and a county-level repair-and-replacement assistance program previously run from 2017–2023.

Robinson said the state received about $75 million under the Inflation Reduction Act and that “the Bear River Health Department is being allocated about $882,000 towards this implementation.” He described income-tiered replacement incentives under the Beehive program and said the older county program (BRAP) had previously repaired or replaced roughly 1,500 vehicles in Cache County and that the prior federal grants disbursed nearly $2,000,000 and produced an estimated reduction of about 130 tons of emissions in the air shed.

Because the new federal/state Beehive funds are limited to electrification, the health department asked the council to permit a locally funded program to remain available to residents who cannot reasonably convert to an EV (for example, because of charging-infrastructure gaps). Robinson described an approach that would prioritize households at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level for larger replacement subsidies and noted applicants would need to demonstrate vehicle ownership and meet eligibility requirements.

Council members asked about program outreach, whether mobile testing would continue, the county’s APC-fee balance, and whether the program would be limited to Cache County residents if county APC funds are used. Robinson and Mathis answered that the APC fee is a $3 charge collected at vehicle registration, the county APC balance is near $500,000, and that the Bear River Health Department intends to run the two programs side-by-side so residents may either seek EV-related incentives under Beehive or repair/replacement help under the county program. Mathis said the county-funded program would focus on Cache County residents because the APC funds come from county registrations.

Councilmember motioned and the council approved a motion to release APC fee funds for the repair-and-replacement program with a cap of up to $125,000 annually. The motion passed by voice vote.

The council also approved the reappointment of Randy Williams to the Bear River Board of Health for a three-year term starting Jan. 1, 2026.