WASHINGTON — The government is nearing final agreement on regulations to cut pollution from large trucks and buses by virtually eliminating sulfur from diesel fuel, Clinton administration officials said Thursday.
A White House decision could come as early as today, although a formal announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency is not likely until next week, a senior official said.
The regulation, first proposed in May, would require a 95 percent sulfur reduction in diesel to an average of 15 parts per million.
Low-sulfur diesel is an important part of the EPA's efforts to dramatically reduce pollution from tractor-trailer rigs and other large trucks and buses. It also could determine whether automakers can meet new emission controls in their largest sport utility vehicles.
The EPA wants the new fuel in pumps nationwide by the summer of 2006. That timetable has prompted intense discussions during a series of White House meetings in recent weeks.
One senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thursday said some phase-in beyond 2006 was likely.
The Energy Department favors a phase-in of at least four years because of concern about refiners' ability to produce the fuel if it were required nationwide by one deadline — even with six years' notice.
With diesel prices soaring over the past year and supplies tight, some administration officials have been receptive to refiners' claims that the new requirements might produce even higher prices and likely fuel shortages.
But EPA officials have argued that the industry would have enough time to prepare for the switch and that the regulation would give small refiners flexibility in shifting to the new fuel.
An unusual coalition of environmental groups, automakers and some diesel engine manufacturers this week urged President Clinton to stick to the original 2006 deadline.
"Any phase-in approach that results in a two-fuel system would jeopardize the environmental benefits of the rule," according to a letter from groups such as the Sierra Club, the California Trucking Association and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.
Truck engine manufacturers and automakers say they need low-sulfur fuel to meet new stringent air pollution requirements effective in 2007 for new heavy-duty trucks and buses, and 2009 for large SUVs.
"When we agreed to (the new auto emissions) provisions a year ago we were told they would make clean diesel fuel available. Promises made should be promises kept," said Gloria Bergquist of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.
Richard Kassel of the Natural Resources Defense Council predicted "a logistical nightmare" if the EPA requires a phase-in where both low-sulfur diesel and the current diesel are made available.
Diesel fuel now has about 500 parts per million sulfur content. The oil industry contends the EPA reduction to 15 parts per million on average may be impossible to meet.
It has offered a reduction to 50 parts per million, which the EPA has said is not adequate to ensure proper operation of emission control devices.
The EPA has estimated the tougher emission controls on trucks, combined with the low-sulfur fuel, will result in a 95 percent cut in tailpipe emissions of smog-causing nitrogen oxide and microscopic soot.