Message Information 20!2J.4N 12 PH 2:2] 

Dear Administrator Jackson, 

Attached and pasted below is a letter from the Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources 

Defense Council, Sierra Club and Union of Concerned Scientists regarding Tier 3 emissions and 

gasoline standards. 

Sincerely, 

Ann Mesnikoff 

Ann Mesnikoff 

Director, Green Transportation Campaign 

(202) 675-2397 (0) 

(202) 375-8296 (m) 

BY EMAIL AND US MAIL TRANSMISSION 

The Honorable Lisa Jackson 

USEPA Headquarters 

Arid Rios Building 

Mail Code: 11OIA 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460 

iackson.lisaepa.gov

Dear Administrator Jackson: 

We are writing to strongly urge you to take an important step to reduce pollution from the 

nation's cars, light trucks, and sport-utility vehicles. In particular, we respectfully ask you to 

immediately propose Tier 3 emissions and gasoline standards for passenger vehicles and to 

finalize these protections by the summer of 2012. A rigorous Tier 3 program would have 

immediate and far-reaching health and environmental benefits: reducing a cascade of harmful 

airborne contaminants, ensuring longer and healthier lives, and helping states and communities 

across our country restore healthy air. These vital health protections will be achieved at an 

extremely modest cost - the additional cost to consumers of the cleaner gasoline would be less 

than a penny a gallon. And timely finalization of Tier 3 standards would allow manufacturers to 

efficiently align technology upgrades with pending fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions 

standards. Now is the time to secure these human health protections for our nation. 

Millions of Americans breathe cleaner, healthier air as a result of the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency's leadership in carrying out our nation's clean air laws. But serious challenges 

remain. More than 1 in 3 Americans still live in areas where air pollutant levels exceed at least 

one of the health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards. And passenger vehicles remain 

the second largest emitters of oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds in the U.S. - the 

primary pollutants that form ozone. These vehicles also emit more than half of all carbon 

monoxide pollution and contribute significantly to lethal particulate matter emissions. 

A protective Tier 3 program has the potential to cut gasoline vehicle emissions of nitrogen oxides 

by nearly sixty percent, carbon monoxide by about 38 percent, and volatile organic compounds 

by close to a third when these protections are carried out. The substantial emissions reductions 

from all vehicles will translate into more than 400 avoided premature deaths and 52,000 avoided 

lost workdays each year.[l] 

Reducing sulfur in gasoline will also result in an immediate reduction in emissions from the 

existing fleet - on the order of approximately 260,000 tons of nitrogen oxides in 2017 when the
program begins - equivalent to taking 33 million cars off our nation's roads. 

A timely federal Tier 3 program is also imperative for states to meet the health-based National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards, including the ozone standard adopted in 2008, which assumed 

final Tier 3 emissions and gasoline standards in its baseline. Emissions redUctions not achieved 

through a rigorous Tier 3 program would have to come from controls on local sources, which 

could be far less significant in magnitude and less cost-effective. 

A timely Tier 3 program is critical to protect human health from transportation sector pollution 

and one of the single most cost-effective solutions our nation can deploy to help states achieve 

and maintain healthy air in communities out of compliance with health-based national air quality 

standards. We cannot afford to delay these vital clean air protections for millions of Americans. 

In a May 2010 Rose Garden ceremony, President Obama announced his intention to finalize a 

Tier 3 program by 2012 that would reduce sulfur levels in gasoline and introduce cleaner cars, 

light trucks and sport-utility vehicles on the same schedule as his already-finalized greenhouse 

gas program. Proposing this program now will help ensure that the President's commitment is 

kept. Thus, we strongly urge you to propose this program as soon as possible. 

Frances Beinecke 

President 

Natural Resources Defense Council 

Michael Brune 

Executive Director
Kevin Knobloch 

President 

Union of Concerned Scientists 

Fred Krupp 

President 

Environmental Defense Fund 

cc: Bob Perciasepe, Deputy Administrator, EPA (perciasepe.bob@epa.gov ) 

Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator, OAR (mccarthy. gina(epa, gov) 

Nancy Sutley, Chair, CEQ (Nancy_H. Sut1ey(ceg.eop.gov) 

Gary Guzy, Deputy Director, CEQ (Gary S. Guzy(ceg.eop.gov ) 

Margo Oge, Director, OAR!OTAQ (oge.margo(epa.gov) 

Cass Sunstein, Administrator, OIRA (Cass R. Sunstein(omb.eop.gov) 

Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, ( 

Heather_R._Zichal@who.eop. gov) 

[11 NACAA, Cleaner Cars, Cleaner Fuel, Cleaner Air: The Need jbr and BenefIts of Tier 3 

Vehicle and Fuel Regulations ; October, 2011.
FINAL NGO Tier 3 letter to Jackson - Jan 11 - 2012.pdf 

OEX Processing Information 

Processed Date: 

Processed By 

P0 Office 

Message Count

BY EMAIL AND US MAIL TRANSMISSION 

The Honorable Lisa Jackson 

Administrator 

USEPA Headquarters 

Ariel Rios Building 

Mail Code: 11OIA 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. 

Washington, DC 20460 

jackson.lisaca pa.gov

Dear Administrator Jackson: 

We are writing to strongly urge you to take an important step to reduce pollution from the 

nation's cars, light trucks, and sport-utility vehicles. In particular, we respectfully ask you 

to immediately propose Tier 3 emissions and gasoline standards for passenger vehicles 

and to finalize these protections by the summer of 2012. A rigorous Tier 3 program 

would have immediate and far-reaching health and environmental benefits: reducing a 

cascade of harmful airborne contaminants, ensuring longer and healthier lives, and 

helping states and communities across our country restore healthy air. These vital health 

protections will be achieved at an extremely modest cost - the additional cost to 

consumers of the cleaner gasoline would be less than a penny a gallon. And timely 

finalization of Tier 3 standards would allow manufacturers to efficiently align technology 

upgrades with pending fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions standards. Now is 

the time to secure these human health protections for our nation. 

Millions of Americans breathe cleaner, healthier air as a result of the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency's leadership in carrying out our nation's clean air laws. But serious 

challenges remain. More than 1 in 3 Americans still live in areas where air pollutant 

levels exceed at least one of the health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards. 

And passenger vehicles remain the second largest emitters of oxides of nitrogen and 

volatile organic compounds in the U.S. - the primary pollutants that form ozone. These 

vehicles also emit more than half of all carbon monoxide pollution and contribute 

significantly to lethal particulate matter emissions. 

A protective Tier 3 program has the potential to cut gasoline vehicle emissions of 

nitrogen oxides by nearly sixty percent, carbon monoxide by about 38 percent, and 

volatile organic compounds by close to a third when these protections are carried out. 

The substantial emissions reductions from all vehicles will translate into more than 400 

avoided premature deaths and 52,000 avoided lost workdays each year.1 

NACAA, Cleaner Cars, Cleaner Fuel, Cleaner Air. The Need for and Benefits of Tier 3 

Vehicle and Fuel Regulations; October, 2011.
Reducing sulfur in gasoline will also result in an immediate reduction in emissions from 

the existing fleet - on the order of approximately 260,000 tons of nitrogen oxides in 2017 

when the program begins - equivalent to taking 33 million cars off our nation's roads. 

A timely federal Tier 3 program is also imperative for states to meet the health-based 

National Ambient Air Quality Standards, including the ozone standard adopted in 2008, 

which assumed final Tier 3 emissions and gasoline standards in its baseline. Emissions 

reductions not achieved through a rigorous Tier 3 program would have to come from 

controls on local sources, which could be far less significant in magnitude and less costeffective. 

A timely Tier 3 program is critical to protect human health from transportation sector 

pollution and one of the single most cost-effective solutions our nation can deploy to help 

states achieve and maintain healthy air in communities out of compliance with healthbased national air quality standards. We cannot afford to delay these vital clean air 

protections for millions of Americans. 

In a May 2010 Rose Garden ceremony, President Obama announced his intention to 

finalize a Tier 3 program by 2012 that would reduce sulfur levels in gasoline and 

introduce cleaner cars, light trucks and sport-utility vehicles on the same schedule as his 

already-finalized greenhouse gas program. Proposing this program now will help ensure 

that the President's commitment is kept. Thus, we strongly urge you to propose this 

program as soon as possible. 

Frances Beinecke 

President 

Natural Resources Defense Council 

Michael Brune 

Executive Director 

Sierra Club

Kevin Knobloch 

President 

Union of Concerned Scientists 

Fred Krupp 

President 

Environmental Defense Fund 

cc: Bob Perciasepe, Deputy Administrator, EPA (pççiasepc.hoh(çpa.gov) 

Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator, OAR (mccarthy.gjiea.gov) 

Nancy Sutley, Chair, CEQ (Nancy H Suticy(accq.cop.gov) 

Gary Guzy, Deputy Director, CEQ 

Margo Oge, Director, OARIOTAQ (qgç.margeagov) 

Cass Sunstein, Administrator, OIRA (C a',_R SuntLIn(a omb op go) 

Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, 

(lieatherR.Zicha1whocpgov)