Copyright 1999 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
The Houston Chronicle
December 22, 1999, Wednesday 3 STAR EDITION
SECTION: A; Pg. 1
LENGTH:
968 words
HEADLINE: Vehicle pollution edict draws
praise, criticism
SOURCE: Staff
BYLINE: NELSON ANTOSH
BODY:
The Clinton administration's plans to clean up gasoline and
crack down on pollution from pickups, minivans and sport utility vehicles drew
praise for clearing the air, but were criticized Tuesday for setting a deadline
too far in advance.
Meanwhile, companies that refine
gasoline warn that the cutback in gasoline
sulfur content could cause major supply bottlenecks that would result
in disruptions and price spikes.
For Houston, the new rules from the
Environmental Protection Agency were expected to help clear the air but won't
solve the city's smog problem. The biggest source of nitrogen oxide pollution
here is industry, not cars, according to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
Commission. President Clinton called these rules the "boldest steps in a
generation" to fight pollution.
"Working closely with industry, we will
ensure both the freedom of American families to drive the vehicles of their
choice, and the right of American children to breathe clean, healthy air,"
Clinton said.
One target of the new regulations would
be placing tighter tailpipe emission standards on new cars and trucks starting
with the 2004 model year. It would also require that sport utility vehicles and
pickups meet passenger car standards in a phase-in that extends to 2009.
The sulfur content of gasoline outside
California, which has its own rules, would be slashed by 90 percent during a
period from 2004 to 2006, going to an average of 30 parts per million from the
current 330.
Sulfur reduces the ability of catalytic
converters to clean up emissions.
"This rule is huge - we should be
celebrating," said Paul Billings, deputy director of government relations for
the American Lung Association. "It is really going to give states and
communities a big leg up in the battle against air pollution."
Millions
of people, especially children with asthma, will breathe easier, the group said.
The American Lung Association is especially glad to see the EPA close a
30-year-old loophole that has allowed minivans, sport utility vehicles and
pickups to produce three times the pollution of passenger cars, it said.
The action is historic because for the first time EPA is setting vehicle
standards instead of Congress, said Billings. "Does it mean that Houston will
get clean air? Probably not," he said. "But it will be a whole lot cleaner than
it would have been."
The Union of Concerned Scientists toasted the
tougher auto rules but said technology is available to make the big SUVs comply
far ahead of the 2009 deadline.
"Technically we are not talking a huge
leap," said Jason Mark, the organization's senior transportation analyst, in
Berkeley, Calif. The engine in a 1999 Ford Expedition comes close to meeting the
2009 requirements now, Mark said.
The scientists' group had also hoped
the EPA would have been tougher on diesel vehicles. Some public health officials
consider soot from diesel engines a potential human carcinogen, it noted.
Options available to auto manufacturers to meet the SUV standards
include access to sulfur-free fuel, more precise fuel control,
a bigger catalytic converter, and placing a heating element within the
converter, said Gloria Bergquist of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers,
adding that she doesn't think auto makers will have to downsize engines.
Cost has not been an issue, Bergquist said. The organization generally
goes along with EPA estimates that it will add $ 100 to the cost of a new car, $
200 to most light trucks and from $ 350 to $ 500 for the heaviest models.
But cost is an issue with refiners, who say they will have to spend $ 3
billion to $ 5 billion to meet the new rules. The plan preferred by the National
Petrochemical & Refiners Association was to move first in areas with high
pollution, not tackling the whole United States at one time.
The impact
of EPA rules on the price of gasoline, assuming there are no
supply disruptions, is projected by refiners to be from three cents to five
cents per gallon.
"From the beginning, the refining industry has
supported reduction of sulfur levels," said organization
President Urvan Sternfels. "We are concerned that extending these
sulfur limits to the whole country could lead to supply and
price instability nationwide, similar to that which California experienced
earlier this year."
Motorists can't afford to have any refineries shut
down because the industry is basically running flat-out now, said Bob Slaughter,
the group's general counsel.
Small refineries in California went out of
business rather than deal with the expensive mandates, he said.
The
refiners are, however, pleased that the EPA didn't include in the rules a
provision for ultimately reducing sulfur down to 5 parts per
million as the auto manufacturers had wanted, Slaughter said.
Texas last
Thursday proposed emission rules for new vehicles that are basically the same as
what the EPA announced Tuesday.
Special rules
for SUVs and trucks
Emission standards are looser for sport
utility vehicles (SUVs), minivans and light trucks than for passenger cars. Some
typical cases:
Maximum nitrogen oxide currently allowed (in grams
emitted per mile)
Standard passenger cars 0.4
Plymouth Caravan (minivan) 0.7
Jeep Grand Cherokee
(sport utility) 0.7
Ford F-150 (light truck)
0.7
Range Rover (sport utility) 0.7
Dodge Ram 1500
(light truck) 0.7
Chevrolet Suburban (sport
utility) 1.1
The regulations, which
will go into effect beginning with 2004 model cars, call for cutting nitrogen
oxide tailpipe emissions from 0.4 grams per mile for cars -- and somewhat higher
for SUVs -- to 0.07 grams per mile for cars and most SUVs by 2007. The largest
SUVs would be given until 2009 to come into line.
GRAPHIC: Graph: Special rules for SUVs and
trucks (P. 16, BAR GRAPH, TEXT); Knight Ridder Tribune, Source: Union of
Concerned Scientists
LOAD-DATE: December 23, 1999
