Copyright 1999 The Denver Post Corporation
The
Denver Post
December 22, 1999 Wednesday 2D EDITION
SECTION: DENVER & THE WEST; Pg. B-10
LENGTH: 447 words
HEADLINE:
EDITORIAL Crackdown clears the air
BODY:
We commend
the feds for cracking down on sport utility vehicles and minivans,
which pollute far more than passenger cars. The stricter federal
requirements are crucial to protect Colorado's air and its residents'
health.
For years, federal rules let makers of SUVs and
minivans pretend that the vehicles weren't used as passenger cars.
They thus had to meet only the relatively lax
environmental requirements imposed on trucks. The scheme was a ruse,
and everyone in the auto manufacturing and pollution control
business knew it. But finally, the Clinton administration has
announced that starting in 2004, new SUVs and minivans must meet the
same basic pollution requirements as passenger cars.
In
addition, petroleum companies will have to start making cleaner
gasolines. Among other benefits, the lower
sulfur content will keep automobiles'
pollution-control equipment working more efficiently, for longer.
The two proposals are great news for all Colorado,
but especially for the Front Range. Since the smog-choked
1970s, Denver and its neighbors have made great strides at cleaning
out the worst air pollutants.
Only part of that improvement
came from local efforts, such as mandatory wood burning bans and
voluntary driving restrictions. The lion's share of the improvement
stemmed directly from tougher federal air-pollution requirements on
new cars. So the stricter the federal rules, the better Colorado's
air became.
But the Front Range may not be able to hang on to its
gains. More than half the new vehicles sold in metro Denver today
are SUVs - without including the enormously popular minivans.
Since all those vehicles put out more pollutants than passenger
cars, their sheer numbers threaten regional air quality.
That's especially worrisome because metro Denver today
comes dangerously close to busting existing federal restrictions
on health-damaging ozone levels. It's unclear whether the region
can meet controversial new regulations that are
stalled in a federal lawsuit.
But the SUV and minivan
standards will work best in tandem with stricter requirements on the
gasolines they burn. So both parts of the new rules
are important for Colorado. In theory, the federal Clean
Air Act gives the Environmental Protection Agency authority to impose
the new standards without congressional action. In reality, Congress
frequently tries to browbeat EPA into retreating from tough
enforcement.
Regardless of political party, Colorado's elected leaders
and voters should support the Clinton administration's action on
this matter.
LOAD-DATE: December 22, 1999
