federal_register: 00-12952
Data license: Public Domain (U.S. Government data) · Data source: Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API
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| document_number | title | type | abstract | publication_date | pub_year | pub_month | html_url | pdf_url | agency_names | agency_ids | excerpts |
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| 00-12952 | Control of Air Pollution From New Motor Vehicles: Proposed Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Standards and Highway Diesel Fuel Sulfur Control Requirements | Proposed Rule | Diesel engines contribute considerable pollution to our nation's continuing air quality problems. Even with more stringent heavy-duty highway engine standards set to take effect in 2004, these engines will continue to emit large amounts of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, both of which contribute to serious public health problems in the United States. These problems include premature mortality, aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, aggravation of existing asthma, acute respiratory symptoms, chronic bronchitis, and decreased lung function. Numerous studies also link diesel exhaust to increased incidence of lung cancer. The diesel engine is a vital workhorse in the United States, moving much of the nation's freight, and carrying out much of its farm, construction, and other labor. Diesel engine sales have grown over the last decade, so that now about a million new diesel engines are put to work in the U.S. every year. Diesels overwhelmingly dominate the bus and large truck markets and have been capturing a growing share of the light heavy-duty vehicle market over the last decade. We are proposing a comprehensive national control program that would regulate the heavy-duty vehicle and its fuel as a single system. We are proposing new emission standards that would begin to take effect in 2007, and would apply to heavy-duty highway engines and vehicles. These proposed standards are based on the use of high-efficiency catalytic exhaust emission control devices or comparably effective advanced technologies. Because these devices are damaged by sulfur, we are also proposing to reduce the level of sulfur in highway diesel fuel significantly by the middle of 2006. Diesel engines are more durable and get better fuel economy than gasoline engines, but also pollute significantly more. If this program is implemented as proposed, diesel trucks and buses will have dramatically reduced emission levels. This proposed program will bring heavy-duty diesel emissions on par with new cars. The results of this historic proposal would be comparable to the advent of the catalytic converter on cars, as the proposed standards would, for the first time, result in the widespread introduction of exhaust emission control devices on diesel engines. By 2007, we estimate that heavy-duty trucks and buses will account for as much as 30 percent of nitrogen oxides emissions from transportation sources and 14 percent of particulate matter emissions. In some urban areas, the contribution will be even greater. The standards for heavy-duty vehicles proposed in this rule would have a substantial impact on the mobile source inventories of oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter. Beginning the program in the 2007 model year ensures that emission reductions start early enough to counter the upward trend in heavy-duty vehicle emissions that would otherwise occur because of the increasing number of vehicle miles traveled each year. This proposed program would result in particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen emission levels that are 90% and 95% below current standards levels, respectively. In order to meet these more stringent standards for diesel engines, the proposal calls for a 97% reduction in the sulfur content of diesel fuel. As a result, diesel vehicles would achieve gasoline-like exhaust emission levels, in addition to their inherent advantages over gasoline vehicles with respect to fuel economy, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and lower evaporative hydrocarbon emissions. We are also proposing more stringent standards for heavy-duty gasoline vehicles. The clean air impact of this program would be dramatic when fully implemented. By 2030, this program would reduce annual emissions of nitrogen oxides, nonmethane hydrocarbons, and particulate matter by a projected 2.8 million, 305,000 and 110,000 tons, respectively. We project that these reductions and the resulting significant environmental benefits of this program would come at an average cost increase of about $1,700 to $2,800 per new vehicle in the near term and about $1000 to $1600 per new vehicle in the long term, depending on the vehicle size. In comparison, new vehicle prices today can range up to $250,000 for larger heavy-duty vehicles. The cost of reducing the sulfur content of diesel fuel would result in an estimated increase of approximately four cents per gallon. | 2000-06-02 | 2000 | 6 | https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2000/06/02/00-12952/control-of-air-pollution-from-new-motor-vehicles-proposed-heavy-duty-engine-and-vehicle-standards | https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2000-06-02/pdf/00-12952.pdf | Environmental Protection Agency | 145 | Diesel engines contribute considerable pollution to our nation's continuing air quality problems. Even with more stringent heavy-duty highway engine standards set to take effect in 2004, these engines will continue to emit large amounts of nitrogen... |