Copyright 1999 Times Publishing Company
St.
Petersburg Times
May 08, 1999, Saturday, 0 South Pinellas
Edition
SECTION: EDITORIAL; EDITORIALS; Pg. 16A
LENGTH: 335 words
HEADLINE:
New emissions rules are worth it
BODY:
Recognizing that Americans' passion for the power and performance
of sport utility vehicles is polluting the air, the Environmental Protection
Agency has proposed an overdue set of federal regulations
designed to reduce the harmful emissions the vehicles spew into the atmosphere.
Starting with the 2004 model year, SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks will have to
meet the same strict pollution standards that apply to cars. Oil companies, too,
will be required to produce cleaner fuels under the new government rules. The
EPA rules offer hope that recent progress in improving the nation's air quality
will not be reversed by the explosive growth in sales of SUVs and light trucks,
which now account for nearly half of all new vehicles sold. Though some
manufacturers have made these vehicles cleaner in recent years, most still emit
two to three times more pollution than the average passenger car.
The
new rules will require both cars and light trucks to meet the same tailpipe
emissions level of 0.07 of a gram per mile of nitrogen oxides, a pollutant that
causes smog and acid rain. The change is expected to reduce pollution from
passenger cars by about two-thirds and emissions from larger SUVs by as much as
93 percent.
To help the auto industry achieve this goal, the Clinton
administration will require refineries to reduce the level of
sulfur in gasoline - from 340 parts per
million to 30 parts per million - beginning in 2004. Sulfur
interferes with pollution control equipment, causing cars to produce more
exhaust.
The changes will cause the sticker price of new light trucks to
climb by at least several hundred dollars and may also add several cents to the
price of a gallon of gasoline. Auto manufacturers have
reluctantly accepted the EPA plan, but the oil industry vehemently opposes the
sulfur requirements, which it claims will cost $ 6-billion and
put some small refineries out of business.
Cleaning up the pollution
will not be cheap, but it is worth the investment.
LOAD-DATE: May 8, 1999
