EGR valve- really neccessary?

[bigcarguy]

Ok, the carb on my 81 is now shot(yeah, even though I've only had it for 5 days). So I figure since it's gonna have to be replaced anyway, I could go ahead and put an aftermarket intake on it, too. I have a 72 with an Edelbrock carb and intake on it that I could use, but the intake isn't set up to use the EGR. So I was wondering if that thing is really even neccessary for the truck to run. I'm not worried about emissions testing because my county doesn't have the emissions test plus the guy that had it before me already ripped off the Cat so I wouldn't pass anyway. Can I use the intake without using the EGR?