Copyright 1999 Times Mirror Company
Los Angeles
Times
May 1, 1999, Saturday, Home Edition
SECTION: Part A; Page 1; National Desk
LENGTH: 973 words
HEADLINE:
CLINTON OFFERS NEW RULES FOR CLEANER AIR
BYLINE:
RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, TIMES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
President Clinton will propose a new generation of clean air rules today,
closing a loophole that allows sport-utility vehicles to pollute more than cars
and mandating national use of cleaner gasoline similar to the
fuel now required in California.
The changes, beginning in 2004, are
intended to head off a predicted increase in air pollution as people drive more
miles and SUVs displace the family station wagon. The rules would sharply lower
emissions from all new passenger vehicles, but the biggest improvement would
come from SUVs, some models of which are now allowed to emit twice as much
pollution as cars.
"Once it is fully phased in, this will be one of the
biggest clean air decisions of this decade," Steven Pedery, a Washington
spokesman for the Sierra Club, said Friday. "It will affect the air that we and
our children breathe for the next 20 years." A key provision of the new rules
would require refineries nationwide to reduce the sulfur
content of gasoline by 90%, to 30 parts per million, the level
now mandated in California.
In turn, that would allow auto makers to
install advanced catalytic converters, reducing tailpipe emissions by 80% or
more in new vehicles. Sulfur, a naturally occurring element in
petroleum, clogs catalytic converters.
The two-pronged approach would
result in cleaner fuel and cleaner vehicles.
Clinton is scheduled to
announce the plan in his Saturday morning radio address, and details are
expected to be available shortly thereafter on the Environmental Protection
Agency Web site at http://www.epa.gov.omswww/tr2home.htm. But the broad outlines
of the proposal have already been circulating among lawmakers and industry
lobbyists.
In the long run, California consumers may benefit as the rest
of the country adopts anti-pollution measures that mirror steps already taken or
underway in the state.
Stronger pollution limits for SUVs sold in
California were adopted last year and, like the federal rules, will take effect
starting in 2004. And low-sulfur gasoline is already required.
However, since many details of the federal plan were not available, it was not
immediately clear how it would finally compare with California standards.
The new federal standards, called for by the landmark Clean Air Act of
1990, are not yet final. After a period for public comment, which is sure to
include heavy lobbying by industry and environmental groups, the rules will be
finalized by the end of the year.
Jerry Martin, a spokesman for the
California Air Resources Board, said Californians could benefit in several ways:
* The introduction of advanced catalytic converters would reduce
emissions from new vehicles sold in California.
* A nationwide shift to
cleaner gasoline could potentially reduce supply bottlenecks
that some have blamed for the recent price hikes in the state.
*
Out-of-state vehicles would pollute less in the future.
Environmentalist
Tim Carmichael, of the Los Angeles-based Coalition for Clean Air, added: "I
think the benefit goes the other way. The rest of the country is benefiting
because California already took the plunge on SUVs."
In Washington, the
main opposition to the plan comes from the oil producers and refiners.
Auto-makers have taken a neutral position. And environmental groups and health
organizations, such as the American Lung Assn., are strongly in favor.
The oil industry argues that the administration's demand for a 90%
reduction in the sulfur content of gasoline
beginning in 2004 is asking too much too soon.
"EPA's proposal in its
current form is cause for serious concern," said William O'Keefe, a senior
lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute. "It presents a daunting challenge
for a refining industry that's currently struggling financially." The industry
estimates that upgrading refinery technology to meet the mandate would
ultimately translate into a 6-cent-a-gallon price increase at the pump.
The White House disputes that figure. "The industry's estimate is
greatly exaggerated," said presidential spokesman Barry Toiv. "Historically, the
industry has overestimated the cost of clean air measures. The actual cost to
consumers will be minimal, and the health and environmental benefits will be
huge."
In Congress, oil-state Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) has
indicated that he will attempt to modify the EPA's proposal along lines
suggested by the oil industry. The industry wants a smaller overall reduction in
the sulfur content of gasoline and a system
that would allow a higher sulfur content in regions of the
country with less air pollution.
The average sulfur
content of gasoline sold outside of California is now about 330
parts per million, 10 times greater than gas sold in the state.
Though
environmental groups were generally pleased with the proposal, several issues
concerning SUVs remained unresolved.
For example, the Sierra Club's
Daniel Becker said the EPA plan gives auto-makers extra time to bring their
heaviest SUVs into line with the standards. Although new models of other
vehicles must comply by 2007, mammoth SUVs--such as the 4-ton Ford Excursion,
which hits the market in the fall--have until 2009.
"We feel that is a
loophole that will invite auto-makers to move vehicles up in weight, and we will
end up with more pollution and less fuel efficiency," Becker said.
Environmentalists were also concerned that the rules do not forbid
auto-makers from putting diesel engines in SUVs.
"The best diesel engine
on the road still emits eight times as much smog-forming pollutants" as
non-diesel vehicles, Becker said. "The other big problem with diesel is soot."
California air quality rules have effectively shut down the market for
diesel-fueled cars in the state, setting standards too stringent to be met by
current diesel technology.
LOAD-DATE: May 1, 1999
