Copyright 1999 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
The Houston Chronicle
December 21, 1999, Tuesday 3 STAR EDITION
SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 465 words
HEADLINE:
EPA will restrict sulfur in gasoline
SOURCE: Staff
BYLINE: NELSON
ANTOSH
BODY:
The Environmental Protection Agency
today is expected to announce the final regulations for the
first nationwide crackdown on the content of sulfur in
gasoline.
And for the first time, sport utility
vehicles and light trucks would have to meet the same pollution standards as
passenger cars, although the manufacturers would have until 2009 to comply.
Industry sources expected the sulfur portion of the
pollution rules to be similar to the agency's proposal this spring, an average
of 30 parts per million sulfur with a cap of 80 parts per
million, phased in from 2004 to 2006. The current average
sulfur content outside of California, which has its own
regulations, is from 330 to 350 parts per million, varying
widely according to location.
Since the proposal was announced, the EPA
has been analyzing comments about the effect of cutting sulfur.
Sulfur is considered a pollutant primarily because it hurts the
efficiency of catalytic converters on vehicles. Cutting the content in
gasoline would have the same air quality benefits as taking 54
million vehicles off the road, the EPA has estimated.
Low-sulfur
gasoline would help Houston's air cleanup because catalytic converters
on cars have the capability to deal with oxides of nitrogen, a particularly
difficult problem for state regulators.
While generally supporting the
goal, refiners have complained about the billions of dollars they will have to
spend in a relatively short period. Some based in Texas have said they will have
to spend $ 100 million per refinery.
A handful of companies have started
selling low-sulfur gasoline but in limited quantities. While
these haven't hiked their prices, the cost to motorists is expected to be around
5 cents per gallon, according to oil industry estimates.
The automakers
will be watching today's announcement for signals that the EPA thinks the
sulfur level needs to be even lower than 30 parts per million,
said Gloria Bergquist, vice president-communications for the Alliance of
Automobile Manufacturers.
The organization, whose members represent more
than 90 percent of vehicle sales in the United States, want even less
sulfur in gasoline. California recently
decided to go to 15 parts per million, noted Bergquist.
The organization
petitioned the EPA for low-sulfur gasoline so its members could
more easily meet clean air requirements.
There also was some speculation
that there will be an announcement today about the government's plans for
lowering sulfur in diesel fuel. Unlike
gasoline, diesel fuel already has seen one reduction and a
second is in the works.
The auto manufacturers were asking for more
time, to 2011, on the sport utility and light truck rule but were getting the
feeling they shouldn't expect relief, said Bergquist.
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December 23, 1999 
