Clean Gasoline Act of 1998

Summary: Clean Gasoline Act of 1998 - Amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit the manufacture, sale, supply, dispensation, transport, or introduction into commerce of motor vehicle gasoline that contains a concentration of sulfur exceeding 40 parts per million per gallon of gasoline. 
Provides that a person shall not be in violation of such prohibition if, during a one-year period, the person engages in such an activity with respect to gasoline that contains a sulfur concentration between 40 and 80 parts per million per gallon if the average concentration of sulfur in the gasoline during the period is less than 30 parts per million per gallon. 
Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations to establish maximum and average allowable sulfur concentrations in motor vehicle gasoline that are lower than such concentrations if:  (1) research conducted after this Act's enactment indicates that significant air quality benefits would result from a reduction in allowable sulfur concentration in such gasoline; or (2) advanced vehicle technologies have been developed that can significantly reduce emissions of air pollutants from motor vehicles but that require gasoline with a lower concentration of sulfur than that specified under this Act. 
Prescribes penalties for violations of this Act. 
Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on the effects of the use of low sulfur motor vehicle gasoline on urban and regional air quality within six and eight years of this Act's enactment date.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Clean Gasoline Act of 1998''.

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 American Automobile 
        Manufacturers Association (AAMA), the Association of 
        International Automobile Manufacturers (AIMA), 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&lt;INF&gt;x&lt;/INF&gt; 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.--The Administrator may 
        promulgate regulations 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--
                    ``(A) research conducted after the date of 
                enactment of this subparagraph indicates that 
                significant air quality benefits would result from a 
                reduction in allowable sulfur concentration in motor 
                vehicle gasoline; or
                    ``(B) 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)''.

SEC. 4. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 6 years, and not later than 8 years, after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency shall submit to Congress a report that documents the 
effects of use of low sulfur motor vehicle gasoline on urban and 
regional air quality.