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 Agency’s (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)