[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 171 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 171

  To amend the Clean Air Act to limit the concentration of sulfur in 
                    gasoline used in motor vehicles.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 19, 1999

  Mr. Moynihan (for himself, Mr. Levin, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. 
 Boxer, and Mr. Cleland) introduced the following bill; which was read 
  twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Clean Air Act to limit the concentration of sulfur in 
                    gasoline used in motor vehicles.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Clean Gasoline Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) according to the National Air Quality and Emissions 
        Trends Report of the Environmental Protection Agency, dated 
        1996, motor vehicles account for a major portion of the 
        emissions that degrade the air quality of the United States: 49 
        percent of nitrogen oxides emissions, 26 percent of emissions 
        of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 
        or equal to 10 micrometers (PM-10), and 78 percent of carbon 
        monoxide emissions;
            (2)(A) failure to control gasoline sulfur concentration 
        adversely affects catalytic converter function for all vehicles 
        in the national vehicle fleet; and
            (B) research performed collaboratively by the auto and oil 
        industries demonstrates that when sulfur concentration in motor 
        vehicle gasoline is reduced from 450 parts per million 
        (referred to in this section as ``ppm'') to 50 ppm--
                    (i) hydrocarbon emissions are reduced by 18 
                percent;
                    (ii) carbon monoxide emissions are reduced by 19 
                percent; and
                    (iii) nitrogen oxide emissions are reduced by 8 
                percent;
            (3)(A) recent studies conducted by the the Association of 
        International Automobile Manufacturers, and the Coordinating 
        Research Council confirm that sulfur in vehicle fuel impairs to 
        an even greater degree the emission controls of Low-Emission 
        Vehicles (referred to in this section as ``LEVs'') and Ultra-
        Low-Emission Vehicles (referred to in this section as 
        ``ULEVs'');
            (B) because sulfur-induced impairment of advanced 
        technology emission control systems is not fully reversible 
        under normal in-use driving conditions, a nationwide, year-
        round sulfur standard is necessary to prevent impairment of 
        vehicles' emission control systems as the vehicles travel 
        across State lines;
            (C) industry research on LEVs and ULEVs demonstrates that 
        when gasoline sulfur concentration is lowered from 330 ppm to 
        40 ppm--
                    (i) hydrocarbon emissions are reduced by 34 
                percent;
                    (ii) carbon monoxide emissions are reduced by 43 
                percent; and
                    (iii) nitrogen oxide emissions are reduced by 51 
                percent;
            (D) failure to control sulfur in gasoline will inhibit the 
        introduction of more fuel-efficient technologies, such as 
        direct injection engines and ``NO<INF>x</INF> trap'' after-
        treatment technology, which require fuel with a very low 
        concentration of sulfur;
            (E) the technology for removing sulfur from fuel during the 
        refining process is readily available and currently in use; and
            (F) the reduction of sulfur concentrations in fuel to the 
        level required by this Act is a cost-effective means of 
        improving air quality;
            (4)(A) gasoline sulfur levels in the United States--
                    (i) average between 300 and 350 ppm and range as 
                high as 1000 ppm; and
                    (ii) are far higher than the levels allowed in many 
                other industrialized nations, and higher than the 
                levels allowed by some developing nations;
            (B) the European Union recently approved a standard of 150 
        ppm to take effect in 2000, to be phased down to 30 through 50 
        ppm by 2005;
            (C) Japan has a standard of 50 ppm; and
            (D) gasoline and diesel fuel in Australia, New Zealand, 
        Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Finland have significantly 
        lower sulfur concentrations than comparable gasoline and diesel 
        fuel in the United States;
            (5)(A) California is the only State that regulates sulfur 
        concentration in all gasoline sold; and
            (B) in June 1996, California imposed a 2-part limitation on 
        sulfur concentration in gasoline: a 40 ppm per gallon maximum, 
        or a 30 ppm per gallon annual average with an 80 ppm per gallon 
        maximum;
            (6)(A) a 1998 regulatory impact analysis by the California 
        Air Resources Board reports that air quality improved 
        significantly in the year following the introduction of low 
        sulfur gasoline; and
            (B) the California Air Resources Board credits low sulfur 
        gasoline with reducing ozone levels by 10 percent on the South 
        Coast, 12 percent in Sacramento, and 2 percent in the Bay Area; 
        and
            (7)(A) reducing sulfur concentration in gasoline to the 
        level required by this Act is a cost-effective pollution 
        prevention measure that will provide significant and immediate 
        benefits; and
            (B) unlike vehicle hardware requirements that affect only 
        new model years, sulfur control produces the benefits of 
        reduced emissions of air pollutants across the vehicle fleet 
        immediately upon implementation.

SEC. 3. SULFUR CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS FOR GASOLINE.

    (a) In General.--Section 211 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (o) as subsection (p); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (n) the following:
    ``(o) Sulfur Concentration Requirements for Gasoline.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Requirement.--Subject to subparagraph (B), 
                effective beginning 4 years after the date of enactment 
                of this paragraph, a person shall not manufacture, 
                sell, supply, offer for sale or supply, dispense, 
                transport, or introduce into commerce motor vehicle 
                gasoline that contains a concentration of sulfur that 
                is greater than 40 parts per million per gallon of 
                gasoline.
                    ``(B) Alternative method of measuring compliance.--
                A person shall not be considered to be in violation of 
                paragraph (1) if the person manufactures, sells, 
                supplies, offers for sale or supply, dispenses, 
                transports, or introduces into commerce, during any 1-
                year period, motor vehicle gasoline that contains a 
                concentration of sulfur that is greater than 40 but 
                less than or equal to 80 parts per million per gallon 
                of gasoline, if the average concentration of sulfur in 
                the motor vehicle gasoline manufactured, sold, 
                supplied, offered for sale or supply, dispensed, 
                transported, or introduced into commerce by the person 
                during the period is less than 30 parts per million per 
                gallon of gasoline.
                    ``(C) Regulations.--The Administrator shall 
                promulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry 
                out this paragraph.
            ``(2) Lower sulfur concentration.--
                    ``(A) Report.--
                            ``(i) Initial report.--Not later than 6 
                        years after the date of enactment of this 
                        subsection, the Administrator shall submit to 
                        Congress a report that documents the effects of 
                        use of low sulfur motor vehicle gasoline on 
                        urban and regional air quality.
                            ``(ii) Followup report.--Not later than 2 
                        years after the date of the initial report 
                        under clause (i), the Administrator shall 
                        submit a report updating the information 
                        contained in the initial report.
                    ``(B) Regulation.--After the date of the initial 
                report under subparagraph (A)(i), the Administrator may 
                promulgate a regulation to establish maximum and 
                average allowable sulfur concentrations in motor 
                vehicle gasoline that are lower than the concentrations 
                specified in paragraph (1) if the Administrator 
                determines that--
                            ``(i) research conducted after the date of 
                        enactment of this subsection indicates that 
                        significant air quality benefits would result 
                        from a reduction in allowable sulfur 
                        concentration in motor vehicle gasoline; or
                            ``(ii) advanced vehicle technologies have 
                        been developed that can significantly reduce 
                        emissions of air pollutants from motor vehicles 
                        but that require motor vehicle gasoline with a 
                        lower concentration of sulfur than that 
                        specified in paragraph (1).''.
    (b) Penalties and Injunctions.--Section 211(d) of the Clean Air Act 
(42 U.S.C. 7545(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or (n)'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``(n), or (o)''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and (n)'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``(n), and (o)''.
                                 <all>