Northwest Opacity Certification • Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency

Thank you for choosing Northwest Opacity Certification - The Northwest's ORIGINAL smoke school!

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Certification Training

NOC offers online certification training.  Training is not required, but is strongly recommended for persons not previously certified and EPA-600/477-027b Section 3.12.1.2.2-4 states, “…it is recommended observers [receive] training at three-year intervals to review proper field observation techniques and method changes….”  The following materials are needed to complete this training.

• EPA Visible Emissions Field Manual
• EPA Instructions for Use of Visible Emission Observation Form
  
• NOC Sun Angle Guidance
• DOI Ringelmann Smoke Chart
• EPA Quality Assurance Handbook for Air Pollution Measurement Systems: Volume III
• EPA Visible Determination of the Opacity of Emissions from Stationary Sources
  
• EPA Method 22 - Visual Determination of Fugitive Emissions: Questions & Answers
• NOC Helpful Hints
  
• Presentation Part 1 - Visual Emissions Training and Certification
• Presentation Part 2 - Completing The Field Observation Form
• NOC Student Observation Record
  
• Visible Emissions Training Exam

Certification Testing - Spring 2025

All testing events begin at 9:00AM at the location stated.

• March 11: Skagit County Fairgrounds - 501 Taylor St; Mt. Vernon, Wash.
• March 12: Lake Sammamish State Park - 2010 NW Sammamish Rd; Issaquah, Wash.
• March 13: Thurston County Fairgrounds - 3054 Carpenter Rd; Lacey, Wash.
• March 14: Port of Longview - 10 International Way; Longview, Wash.
• March 18: West Side Commons - 801 NE 34th Ave; Hillsboro, Ore.
• March 25: Yakima Arboretum - 1401 Arboretum Dr; Yakima, Wash.

Select a date/location and complete and submit a Registration Form.

Northwest Opacity Certification:

• Provides EPA Method 9 Visible Emission Certification in Washington and Oregon.
• Uses process audited by the EPA to ensure compliance with Method 9 requirements.
• Recognized by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for field certification.
• Maintains accurate and accessible records.
• Provides private training at your facility.
• Uses NIST-certified neutral density filters to ensure reliability.
• Offers multiple testing locations across Washington and Oregon.
• Performs regular maintenance and calibration of all equipment used to ensure accuracy.
• Developed simple, economic method for test scoring.