Bush Administration Tackles Nonroad Diesel

By J.R. Pegg

WASHINGTON, DC, April 15, 2003 (ENS) - The Bush administration announced a new proposal today to cut 90 percent of harmful emissions from non road diesel engines used in construction, industrial, and agricultural equipment by 2014. Officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) say the plan will significantly reduce emissions of smog and acid rain forming pollutants and will result in major public health benefits.

U.S. EPA Administrator Christie Whitman told reporters that today's action "represents a strong commitment from the Bush administration to take the next step to achieve cleaner air and protect the health of all Americans."

The proposal lowers the sulfur content of diesel fuel and mandates the use of less polluting engines, similar to regulations set for road diesel engines that will begin in 2006. Along with an EPA led effort to retrofit older diesel school buses, Whitman said, "these actions will be the most far reaching diesel programs in the world today."

The EPA believes the cost of cleaner diesel fuel and tighter emissions controls are far outweighed by the benefits to public health and the environment. (Photo courtesy greenecon.org)

The proposal requires reduction in the sulfur content in nonroad diesel fuel from the current average of 3,400 parts per million (ppm) to 500 ppm in 2007 - the same standard as current highway diesel fuel.

It calls for this standard to be further tightened to 15 ppm by 2010.

This transition to cleaner fuel will enable the second component of the EPA's plan, which is the requirement that new engines meet tighter emissions standards for NOx and PM by 2014.

The pollution reductions from the plan could annually prevent some 9,600 premature deaths, decrease respiratory illnesses and prevent nearly a million work days lost to illness, EPA officials said.

The Diesel Technology Forum, an industry group that represents manufacturers of engines, fuel and emissions control systems, did not fully endorse the plan and issued a release that highlighted reductions the industry has voluntarily made in reducing diesel pollution.

"The Diesel Technology Forum and our member companies look forward to working with EPA to develop a final rule that improves air quality and ensures the continued performance and durability that has made these engines the workhorse of our economy," said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the organization.

EPA officials say they worked closely with industry groups to mitigate the economic impact of the proposed rule.

The agency estimates the reduced sulfur in diesel fuel will be on average 2.5 cents per gallon for 500 ppm fuel and 4.8 cents per gallon for 15 ppm fuel. Costs range for cleaner engine technology, but the EPA estimates it would add about one percent to the cost of a new $230,000 bulldozer.

Agricultural equipment powered by diesel engines is affected by the proposal. (Photo by Ian Britton courtesy freefoto.com)

These groups have been vocal opponents to the administration's initiatives to reform the Clean Air Act and have alleged it is too willing to compromise the environment and public health in favor of industry.

This proposal brought a much different response.

"EPA is advancing one of the single most important measures that can be taken by the federal government to achieve cleaner, healthier air," said Environmental Defense senior attorney Vickie Patton.

"We applaud the Bush administration for proposing to reduce harmful diesel pollution," said U.S. Public Interest Research Group clean air advocate Emily Figdor. "Strong rules to curb diesel emissions will lower the risk of lung cancer and help millions of Americans, especially children with asthma and the elderly, breathe easier."

The support from organizations often at odds with the Bush administration reflects the seriousness of the health and environmental effects from diesel engine pollution, Patton explained.

Smog and PM present severe health risks to many Americans, in particular to the young and the elderly. The EPA estimates that some 111 million Americans live in areas that violate air quality standards for smog, or ground-level ozone, and some 70 million live in areas that violate air quality standards for PM.

And nonroad diesel engines are a significant contributor to the nation's air pollution - they are the largest source of PM and SO2 in the transportation sector. According to a report released today by Environmental Defense and the American Lung Association, diesel nonroad engines are responsible for more pollution today than when the 1970 Clean Air Act was put in place.

The EPA estimates that nonroad diesel engines affected by the proposal currently account for about 44 percent of total mobile source diesel PM emissions and about 12 percent of total NOx emissions from mobile sources nationwide.

The power of diesel engines has helped make the fuel a mainstay for the construction industry. (Photo courtesy U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA))

"This rule will have major public health benefits," Kirkwood said.

The Bush administration's announcement upstaged Environmental Defense and the American Lung Association, who released a joint report today on the dangers of diesel exhaust and the "chaotic regulatory patchwork" that has marked the regulation of diesel pollution.

The report "Closing the Diesel Divide: Protecting Public Health From Diesel Air Pollution" details the growing evidence of the health risks from diesel exhaust, many of which were also identified by EPA officials at today's announcement.

Patton said this "historic" proposal addresses one of the central concerns of the report and officials from both advocacy groups were quick to praise the administration, in particular Whitman, for tackling the issue.

"Diesel exhaust contains a host of harmful contaminants that together pose a cancer risk greater than that of any other air pollutant, and that contribute to unhealthy levels of smog and fine particles affecting millions of Americans," said John Balbus, Environmental Defense public health program director and physician.

"Administrator Whitman deserves enormous credit for her leadership in crafting a proposal that would dramatically lower the most harmful airborne contaminant in our environment."

Stricter standards for road diesel engines begin in 2006. (Photo courtesy EPA)

"There is a lot of work that can be done at the state and local level to foster programs to help get new engines and more immediate public health benefits," Patton said. "We are not going to address all of these problems with federal engine standards immediately we need some leadership at the state and local levels."

The rule could take effect as early as next year and the EPA could change the final proposal. The agency will accept public comments through August 20, 2003.

More information about the nonroad diesel rule can be found at: http://wwww.epa.gov/nonroad

For the Environmental Defense and American Lung Association report, see http://www.environmentaldefense.org