The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tomorrow will propose a rule to cut the amount of sulfur in gasoline, a move supported by automakers and environmentalists though opposed by oil producers who predict it will increase fuel prices.
Several people briefed by the White House said the draft rule would cut the amount of sulfur in gasoline by two-thirds, to 10 parts per million from 30. EPA spokeswoman Julia Valentine didn't have an immediate comment.
Sulfur reduces the effectiveness of catalytic converters, which allows more smog-causing pollutants into the air. Smog can cause a variety of heart and lung ailments. The National Association of Clean Air Agencies said the rule is the equivalent of taking 33 million cars of the roads.
"We know of no other air pollution control strategy that can achieve such substantial, cost-effective and immediate emission reductions," Bill Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, said in a statement.
EPA officials told him that the agency will move ahead with the rule tomorrow, Becker said in a phone interview. The EPA will probably spend the rest of the year analyzing input from public and stakeholders, according to Becker.
'Most Significant'
Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, an environmental group, said he has also been told the rule is coming. It "could be the most significant and landmark clean air accomplishment of President Obama's second term," he said.
Refiners will have to comply with the rule by 2017, O'Donnell said in a telephone interview.
"This is a big step forward for this country to catch up to the clean fuels available in other industrialized nations," Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said in an e-mail.
The Washington-based group, whose members include General Motors Co. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F), and Toyota Motor Corp. (7203), said cleaner fuel will complement the industry's enhancement in emission- control technology and are needed to meet greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards.
Oil industry lobbyists said the rule will increase the price of gasoline while providing little if any health improvements.
Many Regulations
"There is a tsunami of federal regulations coming out of the EPA that could put upward pressure on gasoline prices," said Bob Greco, a director at the American Petroleum Institute, a Washington-based trade association, in an e-mail statement.
The EPA's proposal would raise gasoline production costs by 9 cents a gallon, he said in a statement.
Other proposed EPA regulations including a mandate for ethanol use would boost production costs, which would be passed along to motorists, he said.
"The rule is going to cost a lot of money for not much benefit," Stephen Brown, a Washington-based lobbyist for Tesoro Corp. (TSO) in San Antonio, said in an telephone interview.
Brown said the draft rule will allow small refineries three additional years, until 2020, to comply. The delay makes the rule "less onerous," though still expensive, he said.
He said the rule could cost the industry at least $9 billion.
"Passenger vehicles are major sources of ozone and particle pollution that pose serious threats to public health," said Paul Billings, senior vice president of the American Lung Association in Washington, said in a statement.
To contact the reporters on this story: Brian Wingfield in Washington at bwingfield3@bloomberg.net; Jim Snyder in Washington at jsnyder24@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net
