Clinton announces stricter standards for vehicle emissions

Pickups, minivans and SUVs will have to meet same standards as cars.

By CATHERINE STRONG

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON --- To cut auto pollution by about three-quarters, sport utility vehicles will have to meet the same emissions standards as cars, and sulfur in fuel will be reduced dramatically under regulations announced Tuesday by President Clinton.

The changes would prevent thousands of asthma attacks and respiratory illnesses nationwide, the Environmental Protection Agency said.

"It will be the most dramatic improvement in air quality since the catalytic converter was first introduced a quarter century ago," Clinton said. "And manufacturers will be able to meet these new standards while still offering the kinds of models popular with consumers today."

With more cars on the road each year driving more miles, the president said tougher air quality measures were needed. Otherwise, "air quality in many parts of our country will continue to worsen in the coming decades."

The cost increase at the gas pump would be about 2 cents more per gallon; and about $200 would be added to the price of a light truck and $100 to a new car, the EPA estimated.

For the first time, cars and light trucks --- SUVs, minivans, vans and pickups --- would be required to meet the same strict emissions standards. Nearly half the vehicles sold now are light trucks, and they produce three to five times as much pollution as the average passenger car.

The standards are meant to address pollution in the coming decades.

Auto emissions of nitrogen oxides, a key component of smog, will be cut by 74 percent, and soot will be reduced by 80 percent by 2030 when the car and light truck fleet has fully turned over in the United States.

That is the equivalent of removing 164 million cars from the road, the EPA said.

The new standards also require oil companies to reduce sulfur levels in gasoline by 90 percent, or to an average of 30 parts per million by 2006. The EPA has given smaller refiners an additional two years to meet the requirement.

The EPA said the steep reduction in sulfur was needed because it clogs the catalytic converters that clean auto emissions.

Environmental groups applauded the tougher standards while automakers and the oil industry said they presented formidable challenges.

"There is no bigger single action the federal government could take to address the health and environmental problems caused by air pollution," said the Sierra Club's William Becker.

About 260,000 asthma attacks and 173,000 cases of respiratory illness among children would be prevented each year, the EPA said. The emissions reductions also would prevent 4,300 premature deaths and 10,200 cases of bronchitis, EPA officials said.

Automakers had wanted more time for the largest vehicles to comply with the standard and an even lower amount of sulfur in gasoline, an average of 5 parts per million.

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