http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15804/story.htm Planet Ark : US appeals court upholds EPA cut in diesel emissions
USA: May 6, 2002 WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court last week cleared the way for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to require diesel trucks and buses to cut emissions by 90 percent by 2007, rejecting an attempt by engine makers and fuel refiners to gut the rule. The U.S. Court of Appeals handed environmentalists a major victory by rejecting arguments from giant diesel makers like Cummins Inc. and International Truck and Engine Corp. They complained the EPA acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" in its demand for engines to reduce emissions by over 90 percent by 2007. "Cummins has not shown that the EPA acted arbitrarily or capriciously," the court wrote in its opinion, which dealt an across-the-board rejection to petitioners' complaints. The EPA rules, unveiled in the waning days of the Clinton administration and later affirmed by the Bush administration, will force firms to produce cleaner-burning diesel engines, and compel refiners to make the fuel for them. The new fuel will go into use in mid-2006, and auto makers are expected to begin rolling out new models next year to burn the new gasoline in 2004. The EPA and Justice Department applauded the decision. "The court's opinion ratifies EPA's conclusions that dramatic reductions in the emission of pollutants are technologically feasible," said Tom Sansonetti, a Justice Department assistant attorney general. Green groups said the tough rule will help make the air cleaner for Americans who suffer from asthma and respiratory illnesses. "These standards will dramatically clean up new trucks and buses that use diesel engines," said Frank O'Donnell at the Clean Air Trust. "Hundreds of thousands of Americans will live longer and healthier lives as a result of these new truck and bus standards," said Emily Figdor at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The standard requires diesel engines to cut particulates and nitrogen oxides by over 90 percent. The EPA has estimated the rule could prevent 8,300 premature deaths annually, thousands of cases of bronchitis and other respiratory ailments, and cost about $4 billion a year to implement. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a group of 13 firms including Ford Motor Co, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler, said the ruling could open the door for them to sell cleaner, diesel-powered light-duty cars. "The availability of clean diesel fuel is a critical step toward clean diesel technology," said Julie Becker, a lawyer for the group. The National Petroleum Refiners' Association, part of the lawsuit against the rules, said it objected to EPA's deadlines. "This case has never been about whether the sulfur content of highway diesel fuel will be substantially reduced; it will be," said Bob Slaughter, president of the refiners group. "This case was about whether sulfur reductions should occur in a reasonable timeframe." Slaughter said it was too early to say if the refiners group would appeal the new ruling. Still unsettled is a portion of the case dealing with remote sensing devices the EPA wants engine makers to install to measure emissions - the so-called "not-to-exceed" provision of EPA's rule. Story by Chris Baltimore REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Stock for $4 and no minimums. FREE Money 2002. http://us.click.yahoo.com/orkH0C/n97DAA/Ey.GAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
