Control of Air Pollution From New Motor Vehicles: Tier 2 Motor Vehicle Emissions Standards and Gasoline Sulfur Control Requirements

Today's action finalizes a major program designed to significantly reduce the emissions from new passenger cars and light trucks, including pickup trucks, vans, minivans, and sport-utility vehicles. These reductions will provide for cleaner air and greater public health protection, primarily by reducing ozone and PM pollution. The program is a comprehensive regulatory initiative that treats vehicles and fuels as a system, combining requirements for much cleaner vehicles with requirements for much lower levels of sulfur in gasoline. A list of major highlights of the program appears at the beginning of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this Federal Register. The program we are finalizing today will phase in a single set of tailpipe emission standards that will, for the first time, apply to all passenger cars, light trucks, and larger passenger vehicles operated on any fuel. This set of "Tier 2 standards" is feasible and the use of a single set of standards is appropriate because of the increased use of light trucks for personal transportation. The miles traveled in light trucks is increasing and the emissions from these vehicles are thus an increasing problem. This approach builds on the recent technology improvements resulting from the successful National Low-Emission Vehicles (NLEV) program. To enable the very clean Tier 2 vehicle emission control technology to be introduced and to maintain its effectiveness, we are also requiring reduced gasoline sulfur levels nationwide. The reduction in sulfur levels will also contribute directly to cleaner air in addition to its beneficial effects on vehicle emission control systems. Refiners will generally install additional refining equipment to remove sulfur in their refining processes. Importers of gasoline will be required to import and market only gasoline meeting the sulfur standards. Today's action also introduces an averaging, banking, and trading program to provide flexibility for refiners and ease implementation of the gasoline sulfur control program. The overall program focuses on reducing the passenger car and light truck emissions most responsible for causing ozone and particulate matter problems. Without today's action, we project that emissions of nitrogen oxides from these vehicles will represent as much as 40 percent of this ozone-forming pollutant in some cities, and almost 20 percent nationwide, by the year 2030. Today's program will bring about major reductions in annual emissions of these pollutants and also reduce the emissions of sulfur compounds resulting from the sulfur in gasoline. For example, we project a reduction in oxides of nitrogen emissions of at least 856,000 tons per year by 2007 and 1,236,000 by 2010, the time frame when many states will have to demonstrate compliance with air quality standards. Emission reductions will continue increasing for many years, reaching at least 2,220,000 tons per year in 2020 and continuing to rise further in future years. In addition, the program will reduce the contribution of vehicles to other serious public health and environmental problems, including VOC, PM, and regional visibility problems, toxic air pollutants, acid rain, and nitrogen loading of estuaries. Furthermore, we project that these reductions, and their resulting environmental benefits, will come at an average cost increase of less than $100 per passenger car, an average cost increase of less than $200 for light trucks, and an average cost increase of about $350 for medium-duty passenger vehicles, and an average increase of less than 2 cents per gallon of gasoline (or about $120 over the life of an average vehicle).