The EPA formalized its plan to require that diesel trucks, buses and other
vehicles become 95 percent cleaner by the end of the decade. The
plan includes the phasing in of engine efficiency standards between 2007 and
2010, and the introduction of cleaner fuel in 2006.
"Anyone who has ever driven behind a large truck or bus is familiar with
the smell of diesel fuel and the clouds of thick exhaust emissions. Today's
action will dramatically cut harmful air pollution by up to 95 percent. New
trucks and buses run as cleanly as those running on natural gas," said EPA
Administrator Carol M. Browner.
The new diesel fuel will have to contain 97 percent less sulfur than the
fuel currently used and costs around 6 cents more than conventional diesel.
President Clinton said the new diesel rule and the administration's rule
last year to reduce emissions from regular cars will "spare thousands of
children and elderly the agony of asthma and bronchitis, and help to fulfill
the promise of clean, healthy air for every American."
"Together, these actions represent the most sweeping effort ever to
protect our air and our health from pollution caused by the vehicles we
drive," Clinton said.
The 2006 target date for the new diesel fuel was one that can be met by
most refiners, although the deadline might not give others the time
necessary to retool, oil industry officials said Thursday.
"The rule puts the nation's diesel supplies at risk because some refiners
might not be able to afford the changes to their refineries needed to make
the ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel the EPA has mandated," American
Petroleum Institute said in a statement.
API said the phase-in process drawn up by the EPA would not solve the
problem because it did not allow oil companies to ship other types of diesel
to their customers to cover any shortages of the new low-sulfur variety.
"Significantly less diesel fuel on the market could sharply increase
prices," API said. The petroleum industry said it would bear the brunt
of the cost and responsibility for meeting the new pollution goals through
the costly process of removing sulfur from diesel fuel.
American Trucking Association said it was disappointed that the
EPA rule did not set a national standard for diesel fuels, which
would be used for all types of diesel engines rather than just trucks and
buses.
"Unfortunately, it appears, EPA did not address another major concern of
the trucking industry: the growing patchwork quilt of boutique fuels
across the country that impedes the uninterrupted supply and availability of
diesel fuel," said ATA President Walter B. McCormick.
Environmentalists, however, were pleased with the new rules.
"This is one of the biggest steps to protect public health from dirty air
in the entire history of EPA," said Frank O'Donnell, executive director of
Clean Air Trust. "Dirty diesel trucks and buses will be history.
"The real question now is whether the new administration will
defend this bold cleanup plan against expected oil-industry-led attacks in
Congress and in the courts."
Copyright 2000 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.