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Clean
Air Act , Tier 2 Motor
Vehicle Emission Standards
and Gasoline Sulfur Control
Requirements Rule, U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency, Air Quality and
Standards Division and
the Alternative Dispute
Resolution Team within
the Office of the Administrator
Introduction
of the Assessment Report
I. BACKGROUND/PURPOSE
The
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agencys (EPA or
the Agency) proposed Tier
2 Motor Vehicle Emission
Standards
and Gasoline Sulfur Control
Requirements Rule (Tier
2 Rule or the rule) is
a major regulatory program
designed to significantly
reduce emissions from
cars and light trucks
nationwide.
The rule
is designed to help achieve
significant national reductions
in emissions of several
pollutants, including
nitrogen oxides (NOx),
volatile organic compounds
(VOCs), particulate matter
(PM), and sulfur dioxide
(SO2). These reductions
will improve air quality
across the country. One
of the means of reducing
motor vehicle emissions
is through the use of
low-sulfur gasoline. The
proposed Tier 2 Rule sets
new standards for gasoline
sulfur levels, generally
decreasing the sulfur
content of gasoline from
an average of 300 parts
per million (ppm) today
to 30 ppm by the year
2004.
Many oil
refineries will need to
make operational changes
and/or capital investments
in desulfurization technology
to produce gasoline that
meets the proposed Tier
2 fuel standards. These
modifications may trigger
permitting obligations
under one or more Clean
Air Act permitting programs.
Industry
stakeholders have expressed
concerns about the permitting
process impeding their
ability to meet the deadlines
for production of low-sulfur
gasoline. In its proposed
rule, the Agency identified
several permit-streamlining
approaches that might
be adopted to expedite
the permitting process.
During the comment period,
environmentalists and
members of communities
abutting refineries expressed
concerns about a streamlined
permitting process,
which they expect would
reduce opportunities for
public involvement.
In November
1999, Susan Podziba and
Dawn Davenport (SP&DD)
completed a Phase I convening
to ascertain the key issues
and associated concerns
of the major stakeholder
groups with regard to
permitting issues. As
a followup, the Agency
retained SP&DD to
conduct a Phase II convening
to focus on the potential
for Agency process support
relative to permitting
issues required to implement
the Tier 2 Rule. As recommended
in its Phase I report,
SP&DD interviewed
representative individuals
within each stakeholder
group, but focused much
of its attention on local
environmental groups,
given that few local environmentalists
were interviewed during
Phase I. During the period
of November and December
1999, SP&DD conducted
15 telephone interviews.
This report summarizes
the findings of the Phase
II convening assessment.
Complete
Report (pdf)
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