I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 888
To amend the Clean Air Act to limit the concentration of sulfur in gasoline
used in motor vehicles.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 1, 1999
Mr. KILDEE (for himself, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr.
LAZIO, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr.
LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. NORTON, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. BROWN
of Ohio, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr.
MCDERMOTT, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr.
FARR of California, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. FROST, Mr. BAR-
RETT of Wisconsin, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr.
BLUMENAUER, Mr. ALLEN, and Mr. STARK) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Commerce
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 Representa-
tives 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 Pro-
tection 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 con-
centration adversely affects catalytic converter func-
tion for all vehicles in the national vehicle fleet; and
(B) research performed collaboratively by the
auto and oil industries demonstrates that when sul-
fur concentration in motor vehicle gasoline is re-
duced 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 As-
sociation of International Automobile Manufactur-
ers, and the Coordinating Research Council confirm
that sulfur in vehicle fuel impairs to an even greater
degree the emission controls of Low-Emission Vehi-
cles (referred to in this section as ‘‘LEVs’’) and
Ultra-Low-Emission Vehicles (referred to in this sec-
tion as ‘‘ULEVs’’);
(B) because sulfur-induced impairment of ad-
vanced technology emission control systems is not
fully reversible under normal in-use driving condi-
tions, a nationwide, year-round sulfur standard is
necessary to prevent impairment of vehicles’ emis-
sion control systems as the vehicles travel across
State lines;
(C) industry research on LEVs and ULEVs
demonstrates that when gasoline sulfur concentra-
tion 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 in-
hibit the introduction of more fuel-efficient tech-
nologies, such as direct injection engines and ‘‘NOx
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-effec-
tive 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 high-
er 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 Fin-
land have significantly lower sulfur concentrations
than comparable gasoline and diesel fuel in the
United States;
(5)(A) California is the only State that regu-
lates 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 maxi-
mum;
(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 Sac-
ramento, 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 sig-
nificant 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 implemen-
tation.
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 sub-
section (p); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (n) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(o) SULFUR CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS FOR
GASOLINE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—Subject to subpara-
graph (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 con-
tains a concentration of sulfur that is greater
than 40 parts per million per gallon of gasoline.
‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF MEASUR-
ING COMPLIANCE.—A person shall not be con-
sidered to be in violation of paragraph (1) if the
person manufactures, sells, supplies, offers for
sale or supply, dispenses, transports, or intro-
duces into commerce, during any 1-year period,
motor vehicle gasoline that contains a con-
centration 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 manufac-
tured, sold, supplied, offered for sale or supply,
dispensed, transported, or introduced into com-
merce 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 nec-
essary 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 infor-
mation 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 sul-
fur concentrations in motor vehicle gasoline
that are lower than the concentrations specified
in paragraph (1) if the Administrator deter-
mines 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 vehi-
cle 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)’’.
Æ