Not directly related to CTAL, but shows an increasing commitment to cleaner air.
Monday December 20 6:44 PM ET
U.S. to Order Sharp Cuts in Car, Fuel Emissions
By Patrick Connole
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Clinton administration will announce on Tuesday sweeping new rules to cut car emissions and sulfur levels in gasoline, a twin effort aimed at keeping 2 million tons of smog-forming pollution out of the nation's air, EPA officials said.
The new rules from the Environmental Protection Agency will for the first time address not just pollution from automobiles but also from the gasoline used to fuel them.
The regulations, expected to follow closely a draft of the rules made public in May by President Clinton, seek to crack down on air pollution generated from the popular sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Those autos currently emit three to five times more pollution than passenger cars.
``This is a big deal, taking 2 million tons of air pollution from the air,' said Rebecca Stanfield of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The rules will become part of ``the lasting White House legacy on the environment,' she said.
Under the draft rules announced by Clinton in May, the cleaner gasoline and tougher tailpipe emissions standards would be phased in over five years, beginning in 2004.
The current level of sulfur in gasoline, which nationally now averages 330 parts per million, would be reduced by 90 percent over five years to 30 PPM under the new rules.
High sulfur levels in gasoline are blamed for clogging vehicles' catalytic converters, which control tailpipe emissions and reduce pollution.
At the same time, minivans, trucks and SUVs would have to reduce their emissions of nitrogen oxides, which cause smog. Bigger SUVs would have until 2009 to comply.
EPA and White House officials have stressed the health benefits of cutting smog-forming pollution, notably stopping what the administration says is an explosion in child asthma cases around the country.
Some Republicans and pro-business groups have balked at the tougher tailpipe and sulfur regulations, saying they will penalize Americans who prefer to drive bigger cars.
Oil refiners have said the average price of gasoline could rise as much as 6 cents a gallon because of the cost involved in upgrading refineries to make cleaner fuel.
EPA, however, has said the cleaner-gasoline requirement would add no more than 2 cents to the pump price per gallon.
Automobile manufacturers said the new rule would add $200 to the average sticker price of a new car.
The administration has been in negotiations with auto companies and oil refiners since the regulations were announced in draft form in May, but the White House has apparently not softened its clean air goals, environmentalists said.
``By and large (the new regulations) will look a lot like what was released in May. It seems like they are not compromising the major pieces of the plan,' said Stanfield. |
