There were no unwelcome surprises for industry when the US Environmental Protection Agency May 11 issued a final nonroad low-sulfur diesel rule for farm and construction equipment.
A related plan to clean up fuel for trains and boats is still in draft form and probably won't be finished until next year.
Nonroad diesel fuel now contains as much as 3,000 ppm sulfur. The new rule cuts that to 500 ppm in 2007 and 15 ppm by 2010; industry's total cost should on average run about 7¢/gal, EPA said. A low-sulfur "highway" diesel fuel rule already in place requires 80% of highway diesel to meet a 15 ppm level by mid-2006.
General consensus
Both industry and environmentalists generally support the new final rule; it follows protracted negotiations between EPA and dozens of interested parties that included engine makers, refiners, pipeline operators, marketers, state and local air quality officials, environmentalists, and public interest groups.
Last year, when then EPA Administrator Christine Whitman unveiled the nonroad fuel plan, the Natural Resources Defense Council called the action "the biggest health step since lead was removed from gasoline 2 decades ago (OGJ Online, Apr. 16, 2003)."
A year later, current EPA head Mike Leavitt echoed that observation, telling reporters after a White House briefing the new rule "is a big deal" that "only happens once or twice every 25 years."
The agency estimates that the regulation will prevent 12,000 premature deaths a year, 9,000 hospitalizations, and 1 million lost workdays. But those health benefits won't be fully realized until 2030 when older nonroad engines are off the road.
Good timing
The American Petroleum Institute said it strongly supports EPA's action because it will deliver significant emissions reductions "on a schedule that is feasible for the nation's fuel suppliers."
On EPA's proposed marine and locomotive sulfur rule, API said it was pleased the agency decided to wait until 2012 to give suppliers more time to meet the 15 ppm standard.
But not everyone was happy with EPA's decision. Emily Figdor of the US Public Interest Research Group and Frank O'Donnell of the Clean Air Trust accused EPA of caving in to oil lobbyists by proposing the 2-year delay.
They cited a recent study by air pollution officials in the US Northeast that found very high levels of fine particle soot on train platforms and in train waiting rooms. "There was literally no reason to postpone that cleanup other than to appease campaign contributors from the oil industry.
"The industry's argument—that cleaning up the fuel would cost too much—appears pretty hollow in light of recent reports of very healthy oil company profits," O'Donnell said.
Until new standards are in place, EPA projects that railroad and marine diesels will cause some 27% and 45%, respectively, of total nitrogen oxides and particulate matter pollution coming from mobile sources.
