Oil industry asks EPA to rethink diesel plan

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Monday, 13 March 2000 22:56 (ET)

Oil industry asks EPA to rethink diesel plan

LOS ANGELES, March 13 (UPI) -- Representatives of the oil industry Monday asked the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider lowering the sulfur content of diesel because, they warned, it would also lead to a supply shortage.

Nine industry associations, including the American Petroleum Institute and the National Association of Truck Stop Operators, asked that the plan to reduce the cap on sulfur in diesel fuel from 500 parts per million to 15 parts per million by 2006 be "withdrawn and reconsidered" citing that it was not practical.

"The proposed cap and timeframe are in excess of what is feasible or advisable from either an energy supply or environmental standpoint," the letter to EPA Administrator Carol Browner said. "We consider it a blueprint for future shortages of diesel and home heating oil."

The letter said the oil industry was "committed to dramatically reducing diesel engine emissions," but that they were also concerned about maintaining supplies.

A shortage of heating oil in the Northeast this winter, aggravated by cuts in OPEC crude production, caused homeowners' bills to skyrocket. Heating oil is a type of diesel fuel.

"You have doubtless read in recent weeks that truckers and others who rely on diesel fuel have been quite vocal in expressing their concerns about current and future diesel supply," the letter said. "We are here today to ask for specific and immediate government action which will help address these concerns."

The Clinton administration announced late last year that it wanted to slash the sulfur in exhaust emissions as a means of reducing smog; the White House Office of Management and Budget is assessing the proposal.

The industry has said in the past that implementing the stricter sulfur limits for diesel and gasoline will strain production capacity.

The letter to Browner said there was no scientific evidence to support the need for the 2006 target date, and the plan should not have been announced without more study into the impacts it would have on supply.

There was no immediate comment from the EPA.

http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=71021

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 13, 2000


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