Virginia idling law: the 3-minute rule

What the law says

In commercial or residential urban areas, propulsion engines of motor vehicles licensed for commercial or public service use shall not be left running for more than three minutes when the vehicle is parked, unless the propulsion engine is providing auxiliary power for other than heating or air conditioning…

9VAC5-40-5670 C

Who and what it covers

Three conditions must all be met: the vehicle is licensed for commercial or public service use, it is parked, and it is in a commercial or residential urban area. Privately licensed passenger cars are outside the rule, and so is a commercial vehicle stopped in traffic or out in a rural area. The regulation applies throughout Virginia (9VAC5-40-5650 B), but it does not define “commercial or residential urban areas.” Ceremonial, antique and historic vehicles are exempt from the whole mobile-source article (9VAC5-40-5650 C).

Exemptions

• Propulsion engine providing auxiliary power for anything other than heating or air conditioning (9VAC5-40-5670 C)
• Tour buses: up to 10 minutes during hot weather to maintain power to the air conditioning (9VAC5-40-5670 C 1)
• Diesel-powered vehicles: up to 10 minutes to minimize restart problems (9VAC5-40-5670 C 2)
• Vehicles that are not parked, such as in traffic or a moving line (the limit applies only “when the vehicle is parked”)
• Areas that are not commercial or residential urban areas
• Vehicles not licensed for commercial or public service use
• Mobile sources used solely for ceremonial purposes, antiques and others of historical significance (9VAC5-40-5650 C)

Penalties

The idling limit is a State Air Pollution Control Board regulation, so it carries the air-law remedies in Va. Code §10.1-1316: an injunction, or a court-imposed civil penalty “not to exceed $32,500 for each violation,” and every day of violation counts separately, and DEQ may instead settle with consent for civil charges up to that limit. No smaller fixed fine for idling appears in the regulation. Local bus-idling ordinances adopted under Va. Code §46.2-1224.1 are capped at a $50 civil penalty.

Who enforces it, and how to report

The rule belongs to the State Air Pollution Control Board, and Va. Code §10.1-1316 lets the Board’s rules be enforced through court injunctions and civil penalties, or through DEQ consent orders with civil charges. Bus-idling ordinances are a separate, local track: Va. Code §46.2-1224.1 lets a county with the county manager plan cap bus idling at 10 minutes, and any other county, city or town at 15 minutes, with a civil penalty of no more than $50; school and public transit buses are excluded.

DEQ takes pollution reports through its online PReP tool in the myDEQ Portal. DEQ asks you to note who is responsible, what the issue is, when it happened and whether it is ongoing, where it happened, and what was affected; reports can be anonymous, but DEQ warns that thin information may prevent follow-up. For an imminent threat to health, DEQ says to call 911 and the Virginia Emergency Operations Center at 1-804-750-8845 instead. DEQ’s central office numbers are (804) 698-4000 and (800) 592-5482. A tour or charter bus idling past a locality’s posted limit is a matter for that locality, such as Arlington County, rather than DEQ.

Local rules in Virginia

• Arlington County: No person may idle a bus engine more than ten minutes when the bus is parked, left unattended, or stopped for reasons other than traffic or maintenance. School buses and public transit buses are exempt. Civil penalty: $50. (Arlington County Code §14.2-2(F))

History

The motor vehicle section, 9VAC5-40-5670, derives from VR120-04-4103, effective January 1, 1985. The local bus-idling enabling statute, Va. Code §46.2-1224.1, dates to 1996 (c. 389) and was amended in 2008 (c. 587).

Reporting in Virginia is unpaid. The only program that pays complainants is New York City's.