Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company
The New
York Times
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February 20, 1999, Saturday, Late Edition -
Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 14; Column
1; Editorial Desk
LENGTH: 556 words
HEADLINE: Toward Cleaner S.U.V.'s
BODY:
Required by law to impose tougher rules on
automobile air pollution by 2004, Carol Browner, the administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, is going about it in just the right way. The
new regulations she has sent to the White House for its
approval will require not only cleaner engines but cleaner fuels as well. This
means that not one but two powerful industries -- the automobile manufacturers
and the oil companies -- will be lobbying to relax those rules. Ms. Browner is
almost certain to get President Clinton's support. Less certain is the outlook
in Congress, where some Republicans have repeatedly tried to undermine her
administrative authority.
The most controversial rule would drastically
reduce pollution from so-called light trucks -- a category that includes the
wildly popular sport utility vehicles (S.U.V.'s), mini-vans and pickup trucks
that have done so much to bring the good times back to Detroit. Until now,
vehicles in this category have been allowed to produce up to three times as much
pollution per mile as standard cars, because regulators have regarded light
trucks as work vehicles. The proposed rules would cut the allowable pollution
from standard cars in half by 2004, and require most S.U.V.'s, mini-vans and
pickups to meet the same standard by 2007. Mini-vans, S.U.V.'s and pickups
account for nearly half of new purchases, and their popularity could soon
obliterate recent gains in air quality. With that in mind, California announced
in November that these vehicles would have to meet the state's emissions
standards for autos by 2006, a slightly stricter timetable than Ms. Browner's.
The automobile companies may lobby for an even more relaxed schedule.
But they have been mollified to some extent by Ms. Browner's concurrent decision
to order up cleaner fuels, which will make it easier for the car makers to meet
their targets. Refineries will be required to cut the nationwide average of
sulfur in gasoline by about 90 percent,
beginning in 2004. This is vital because sulfur clogs up a
vehicle's catalytic converter, the device that cleans car exhaust of nitrogen
oxide and other pollutants that cause smog and acid rain. Cleaner
gasoline alone could achieve the same result as taking 54
million cars off the road -- a prospect that delights states like New York that
are constantly struggling to bring their air into compliance with Federal health
standards.
Americans will pay more under these new rules, although it is
not clear how much. The new emissions standards could add several hundred
dollars to the cost of S.U.V.'s and other vehicles in the light truck category,
and the sulfur rules could add several cents to the price of a
gallon of gasoline as the oil companies retool their refineries
to meet the new standard. Oil industry spokesmen say the adjustments could cost
$5 billion to $6 billion altogether.
However, ever since the original
Clean Air Act was written into law in 1970, industry in general has routinely
overestimated the costs of environmental rules while greatly underestimating the
ability of its own engineers to respond to timely regulation
and commercial realities. Ms. Browner is betting that improved technology can
deliver cleaner vehicles and cleaner fuels at an affordable price. Historically,
that has been a safe bet. http://www.nytimes.com
LOAD-DATE: February 20, 1999 
