Copyright 1999 Plain Dealer Publishing Co.
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December 21, 1999 Tuesday, FINAL / ALL
SECTION: NATIONAL; Pg. 1A
LENGTH: 646 words
HEADLINE:
CLINTON OPENS ATTACK ON CAR, SUV POLLUTION
BYLINE: By
WARREN BROWN; and MARTHA M. HAMILTON; WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
President Clinton will unveil tough new environmental rules today that would
require oil companies to produce cleaner gasoline and force
automakers, for the first time, to develop sport utility vehicles that meet the
same stringent emissions standards as cars.
These final rules, to be
issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, would sharply reduce the level of
gasoline sulfur, which can clog catalytic converters designed
to reduce pollutants. Environmentalists say the changes, which will begin in
2004, will have as profound an effect on the kinds of gasoline
available as did the phaseout of leaded gasoline, which began
in the early 1970s and ultimately led to complete elimination of that fuel from
the United States. The newer fuels could be used in older cars and trucks
without any modifications. But oil companies, which have fought the proposal,
have estimated that cleaning up fuels could add as much as 5 cents to 6 cents to
the cost of a gallon of gasoline.
Bob Slaughter,
general counsel for the Washington-based National Petrochemicals and Refiners
Association, said that the clean-gas rules being announced today actually amount
to a 90 percent reduction in the amount of sulfur in
gasoline.
"Our members tell us that probably every
refinery is going to have to make a significant investment to do this,"
Slaughter said.
The new emission rules would apply to all light trucks -
pickups, minivans, vans and sport utility vehicles. But in writing the final
version, the EPA also strengthened the rules to apply to the heaviest passenger
trucks as well.
The truck rules could limit the weight of the biggest
light trucks to 8,500 pounds, a heavyweight status reached only by a few of
today's trucks, such as specially equipped versions of Ford Motor Co.'s
Excursion sport-utility vehicle.
Currently federal
regulations allow most trucks and SUVs to escape tougher
emissions standards. By forcing the heavier trucks to meet car clean-air
standards, the government hopes to keep a lid on the growth of super-heavy sport
utility models, some Clinton administration and auto industry sources said
yesterday.
Taken altogether, the new rules amount to a "clean-air
trifecta that will cut harmful smog, reduce fine sooty particles breathed deep
into the lungs and help curb air pollution damage to our forests, lakes and
streams," said Vickie Patton, a Washington lawyer for the Environmental Defense
Fund.
Implementing the new federal clean-gas rules would be the
equivalent of taking 54 million cars off the road, advocates of the measure have
said.
For years automakers have been arguing that the only way they can
produce more low-pollution engines, as well as improve fuel efficiency, is with
the help of the nation's petroleum industry.
Most current U.S.
gasoline has an average sulfur content of 300
parts per million. Sulphur fouls emission-control devices, such
as catalytic converters, which are designed to burn off pollutants leaving
tailpipes. Sulfur also upsets emission-control sensors, such as
Onboard Diagnostic II systems, installed in many new cars and trucks.
The automakers wanted a sulfur content standard of zero
parts per million. Petroleum makers balked, saying that reaching that standard
would be prohibitively expensive, especially for smaller refiners.
A
compromise was reached after several years of wrangling. The new, average 30-ppm
standard will apply in all states except California, which has mandated a
sulfur content of 15 ppm.
Earlier this year, oil
refiners estimated the shift to clean gas would cost them $5 billion to $6
billion in new processes and tools.
Also affected by the new rules are
diesel-powered vehicles, which eventually will have to meet
gasoline-engine standards for emissions.
Diesels
generally emit sooty, thin particulate matter that can cause or aggravate
respiratory problems.
LOAD-DATE: December 22, 1999
