January 25, 2012 

Honorable Lisa P. Jackson 

Administrator 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Mail Code: 6102T 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20460 

Re: Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Standards / Low Sulfur Gasoline Rule 

Dear Administrator Jackson: 

We, the undersigned state environmental leaders, write to urge you to expeditiously propose the 

Tier 3 motor vehicle and low sulfur gasoline standards and to finalize that rule in 2012. Despite 

a significant and sustained joint state and federal effort spanning more than 40 years, air 

pollution remains a serious public health threat in our region and across the United States. 

EPA first committed to proposing Tier 3 standards in 2008 to help states meet the National 

Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone and is late in delivering the much needed 

reductions from the light-duty vehicle sector. This sector remains a significant source of ozoneforming pollutants across the country. EPA’s own modeling analysis shows that the Cross-State 

Air Pollution Rule (if implemented) will not result in attaining the new ozone NAAQS in many 

of the most populous areas in our region. Clearly, Tier 3 and low sulfur gasoline is needed to 

better protect public health. 

Emissions from cars and light and medium-duty trucks also contribute to fine particle pollution 

and are key sources of hazardous air pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and 

1,3-butadiene. These pollutants disproportionately affect people living and working in our urban 

communities, where vehicle congestion and population density are highest. Further, nitrogen 

oxides (NOx) and other vehicle-related pollutants contribute to a number of environmental 

problems such as acid rain, coastal marine eutrophication, and regional haze that affect cherished 

and economically valuable resources in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region. 

Light-duty vehicles are by far the largest source of NOx emissions in the Ozone Transport 

Region (OTR), emitting over 700,000 tons of NOx per year. Lowering the sulfur content of 

gasoline to 10 parts per million (ppm), as EPA is considering, would immediately reduce NOx 

from this sector by more than 25 percent. Over time, the vehicle standards will dramatically 

reduce harmful pollutants as the Tier 3 vehicles replace older cars and trucks in the fleet. 
2. 

A recent analysis indicates that the Tier 3/low sulfur gasoline program would reduce NOx 

emissions in the OTR by over 50,000 tons per year in 2017, which is more than three times the 

benefits projected for the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule in the region.1

 Further, as a national 

strategy, the Tier 3 low sulfur gasoline provision alone would reduce NOx emissions by over 

175,000 tons per year, or 500 tons per day, by 2017 across the eastern United States. These 

reductions will benefit air quality by lowering the “ozone reservoir” and accompanying NOx 

precursor pollution generated in the eastern United States and transported into the OTR under the 

prevailing summertime winds. 

These reductions would translate to between $235 million and $1.2 billion in direct public health 

benefits annually in our region. The 10 ppm sulfur gasoline provisions would likely reduce NOx 

at a cost of less than $4,000 per ton, which is comparable to or less than the costs associated with 

federal Tier 2 and heavy-duty engine/low sulfur diesel rules and many stationary source controls, 

including industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) boilers and combustion turbines. 

Given the stringency of existing emission controls already in place in our states, federal 

constraints on state regulation of motor vehicle fuels, and the fact that our states are significantly 

affected by pollution transport from sources outside the region, national emission control 

measures for light-duty vehicles are critical to achieving further improvements in air quality. 

Without Tier 3 and other federal measures, more costly emission reductions will have to be 

accomplished by controlling local sources in our states beyond what otherwise would be needed, 

in order to compensate for the foregone national measures. 

We respectfully request that EPA expeditiously issue a notice of proposed rulemaking and 

finalize the Tier 3/low sulfur gasoline rule in 2012. 

Sincerely, 

 Daniel C. Esty, Commissioner Christophe A. G. Tulou, Director 

 CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection DC Department of the Environment 

 Robert M. Summers, Secretary Kenneth L. Kimmell, Commissioner 

 MD Department of the Environment MA Department of Environmental Protection 

 

1 Assessment of Clean Gasoline in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States, Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use 

Management, Boston, MA (November 2011). 
3. 

 

 Joseph J. Martens, Commissioner Janet Coit, Director 

 NYS Department of Environmental Conservation RI Department of Environmental Management 

 

 David K. Mears, Commissioner 

 VT Department of Environmental Conservation 

c: Bob Perciasepe, Deputy Administrator, EPA 

 Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator, OAR 

 Margo Oge, Director, OAR/OTAQ