Sounds like it.

Most of the owners report LOTS of noise from the pumps LONG before failure. Most guys just drive until it does not work at all and a code gets tripped.

Sound wise, it sounds like a vacuum cleaner (not too loud).

But you are 100% right, I am one of those owners ignored the problem. I'm due for emissions testing soon in Maryland so got to get it fixed! Now that the engine light is cleared, the 300 mi trip I am making to MD tomorrow should be enough to pass the test without them saying I didn't wait long enough.

UPDATE 9/18/2015
 

The exact same thing happened today as yesterday.

When I left for work this morning the air pump did not kick on. However, when I left for lunch (12:00 PM), the air pump kicked on and stayed on for 45-60 seconds...

I did notice that when I turned the car on this morning to leave for work, the thermostat needle barely cleared the edge of the blue marking. Perhaps that is why its not turning on in the morning as the motor isn't technically in cold start condition?

When I left for lunch today, the needle was in the middle of the blue region (i.e. colder than this morning)..

The car is kept in the garage after work and overnight where the ambient air temp is around 75 deg F. When I head to work in the morning, the temperature is around 60 deg F. So perhaps after my short commute to work (8 miles all highway), the engine cools down to cold start conditions as it is parked in lot in 60 deg weather at work. It did warm up to about 80 by noon, but I would say it was 60 for at least a couple hours.

Thoughts?

EDIT: I did turn the car on last night at 11 PM to see if the engine would be cold and it turned out it was still warm. This may have prevented the cold start this morning.

***SOLVED***
 

The problem has been fixed since replacing the components listed above. Fan kicks on for a minute during every cold start. No SES light for over a week now. Passed my emissions test. Thanks for the help everyone.

Congrats!