MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
December 21, 1999
A FUNDAMENTAL reason for the rules, Clinton said in announcing them at a Washington, D.C., school, is the fact that cars are causing much of the asthma affecting many of America’s children.
Calling them the “boldest steps in a generation to clean the air we breathe by improving the cars we drive,” Clinton said they would allow Americans to drive the cars they like while allowing children to breathe clean air.
The American Lung Association estimates that smog and microscopic soot annually accounts for 400,000 asthma attacks and 1 million various respiratory problems, many in children, as well as 15,000 premature deaths among the elderly. The president acknowledged that new cars today are 95 percent cleaner than cars in 1970 but also noted some other changes since then.
Twice as many cars are on the road today, he said, and more miles are being driven. Moreover, nearly half of all new vehicles are
SUVs, minivans and pickups, “which produce three to five times as much pollution as the average passenger car.”
WHAT RULES DO
First proposed last May, the Environmental Protection Agency rules will be phased in over five years and affect how fuel is refined and vehicle engines are made:
Engine emissions: The tougher pollution controls aim to cut smog-causing emissions by 90 percent within a decade. Nitrogen oxide tailpipe emissions would be cut from today’s 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. While these are fleet averages, the requirement also caps the amount of pollution for any vehicle group and probably will make all car models cleaner.
Fuel mixture: The EPA ordered that refiners reduce the amount of sulfur in gasoline to an average of 30 parts per million nationwide. Currently sulfur levels average about 10 times that. Sulfur can clog catalytic converters, which stop pollutants, and the cleaner-burning gasoline aims to allow converters to work as designed. On car prices, the EPA estimates the changes will add less than $100 to a car and about $200 to light trucks, a category made up of SUVs, minivans and pickups. Industry says passenger car increases would be more like $200, and light trucks around $500. As for gas prices, The EPA figures low-sulfur gasoline will add two cents to the price of a gallon of gas. The oil industry claims costs could rise as much as 6 cents a gallon. Either way, older cars will be able to use the new gasoline without modification.
REACTION ON RULES
Bill Becker, head of the Association of State and Territorial Air Pollution Administrators, said the new rules “will result in huge air quality benefits.” The low-sulfur fuel will result in “overnight emission reductions” since the cleaner gasoline will improve the efficiency of pollution control equipment in cars already on the road, said Becker. His organization, which represents the officials who develop state and local air pollution plans, estimates the change to low-sulfur gasoline is the same as taking 54 million cars off the road.Environmentalists also praised the rules. Frank O’Donnell of the Environmental Trust said the tougher rules “will mean millions of tons of pollution reduced with the benefits going on for decades.” That pollution, environmentalists note, includes carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases that many scientists fear is warming up Earth.
Automakers, for their part, said they’d go along with the rules but noted the extra expense. “We will be substantially challenged,” said Jo Cooper, president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. And the oil industry had argued the rules will put some small refiners at economic risk and force higher gas prices in areas not affected by serious pollution.
HUGE SUVS AFFECTED TOO
The Washington Post reported that the new rules would also affect SUVs big enough to be classified as trucks. Currently, only Ford builds one that big, and the EPA hopes to keep a lid on the growth of such models.
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