EPA 'Tier Ⅲ' Air Rule Flexibilities Fail To Quell Refiners'Attacks On Policy

摘要

EPA's final "Tier Ⅲ" fuel and vehicle air rule includes new regulatory flexibilities sought by refiners including making it easier to use existing compliance credits and not making 15 percent ethanol (El5) gasoline a certification fuel, but refiners still oppose the rule and say its low-sulfur fuel mandate could create up to $10 billion in capital costs. The final rule released March 3 retains the proposed version's requirement for refiners to cut sulfur content from 30 parts per million to 10 parts per million by Jan. 1, 2017. It also sets tight new tailpipe emissions starting with model year 2017 vehicles, a deadline automakers sought so they can harmonize EPA's standards with California tailpipe rules already adopted by more than a dozen other states. Relevant documents are available on InsideEPA.com.