Comments and Testimonies

Aug. 19, 2003

Clean Air Council Comments on Proposed Rulemaking
on Control of Emissions of Air Pollution
From Nonroad Diesel Engines and Fuel, 68 FR 28328, (May 23, 2003)

These comments are made on behalf of Clean Air Council, a 501(c)(3) environmental organization representing over 7,000 residents of Pennsylvania and Delaware. The Council operates out of offices in Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. Established in 1967, Clean Air Council is dedicated to protecting the right of everyone to breathe clean air. Inquiries or responses to these comments should be directed to Michael Fiorentino, Esq., 135 S. 19th St., Suite 300, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

Clean Air Council supports finalizing the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) proposed rule to reduce air pollution emissions from nonroad diesel engines and to lower the sulfur content of diesel fuel, but encourages certain modifications which are more protective of human health.

The proposed rule should be implemented so as to achieve the maximum public health benefits as quickly as possible. Air pollution in the mid-Atlantic region is causing asthma attacks in young children, leading to premature deaths among the elderly, and even damaging the lungs of perfectly healthy adults. By EPA's own estimates, nonroad diesel engines are responsible for approximately 44 percent of total diesel particulate matter (PM) emissions and 12 percent of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions-leading sources of air pollution throughout the mid-Atlantic region. The sooner the proposed rule is finalized and implemented, the sooner Pennsylvania and Delaware's 144,000 children with asthma will be able to breathe a little easier. Diesel exhaust is also acknowledged as the most damaging combination of pollutants regularly emitted. It contains numerous carcinogens, including dioxin, benzene, toluene, arsenic, mercury compounds, and other heavy metals and toxic organic compounds.

The timeframe for implementing the proposed rule is too long, and should be tightened. Phase I of the fuel changes occurs in 2007 with Phase II set for 2010. The engine standards dateline changes depending on the size of the engine but most of the engines of any economic significance do not face new standards until 2011 at the earliest. EPA's own factsheets supporting the rule indicate 9,600 lives are lost annually prior to this rule's full effectiveness in 2030. Therefore, tightening the implementation of the sulfur limit in fuel and the engine standards by even two years could save nearly 20,000 lives. EPA emissions inventory data shows nonroad sources every bit as significant as highway diesel sources. Given that manufacturers of highway diesel engines and fuel refiners are beginning to comply in 2006 and 2007, it seems unnecessary to condemn so many Americans to shortened lives only to appease the lingering intransigence of the nonroad diesel industries. The lead time given to the nonroad sector engine manufacturers and fuel refiners must not remain as lengthy as proposed.

Furthermore, the proposed rule should not be weakened in any way prior to its finalization. No special loopholes or exemptions should be created for any categories of nonroad diesel engines, large or small, because they all contribute to the pollution which causes health effects. In Pennsylvania, the pollution from diesel-powered construction, mining, railroad and agricultural equipment all contribute in significant ways to the health effects attributable to nonroad diesel sources. In Delaware, along the Delaware River bordering Pennsylvania, and in the Three Rivers area of Pittsburgh, marine vessels are also a very real source of NOX and PM 2.5 emissions. It is particularly critical that such sources do not escape regulation given the extremely high level of sulfur in marine fleet diesel fuel. River and lake-going vessels typically use fuel containing 3000-5000 ppm sulfur, while oceangoing vessels, which frequent the ports of Philadelphia, Wilmington and New Jersey, often run on fuel containing as much as 10 times that amount. All nonroad sources-including marine vessels-should be addressed under the proposed rule.

Likewise, no loopholes or exemptions should be created for diesel-powered electrical generators. The emissions from these sources-whether classified as mobile or stationary-is a growing problem in the mid-Atlantic region. It is clear that some power companies, such as First Energy of Ohio, are employing a strategy of using dirty, exempted diesel "peaking units" at electrical substations in the territories they control. Fallout from the recent historical blackout in the East is likely to mean that more and more businesses and power companies will come to rely on diesel for electricity generation. This source of air pollution cannot take a free pass from the new rules.

Furthermore, the Council is suspect of additional lead time for "small manufacturers" and outright exemptions to companies that demonstrate "severe economic hardship" with meeting the standards. The additional lead time concept, if retained, must be extremely limited, providing at most a single year of additional time. The economic hardship proposal is very hard to justify. If a manufacturer or refiner is unable to adapt in order to meet standards that all its counterparts are being asked to do, then it perhaps can no longer play a role in the industry. Outside of a very limited time extension for such petitioners, such as a year or less, other alternatives should be explored, including private sector consolidations which might private the capital needed to qualify to continue operations.

Generally, Clean Air Council supports EPA's proposal to reduce the sulfur content in diesel fuel for nonroad vehicles. There is no reason for a backhoe, tugboat or generator to use dirtier fuel than a city bus or an 18-wheeler. Nonroad diesel engines should be required to use fuel with a sulfur content no higher than 15 ppm-which will soon be the limit for highway engines. The Council supports a more rapid transition to low sulfur fuel. At 500 ppm, particulate emissions will still be very significant. With the need for many cities to begin to work for pm2.5 NAAQS attainment, having an additional couple of years of reduced sulfur fuel emissions should be remarkably helpful in modeling attainment and achieving it. Thus, the Council contends that, if an interim step is necessary, 500 ppm should be achieved by 2006, and the final stage of 15 ppm should take effect by 2008. According to EPA's own cost-benefit analysis, the additional 2.3 cents per gallon of cost in the step from 500ppm to 15 ppm fuel would be fully eclipsed by a corresponding reduction in maintenance expenses to the engines of 3.3 cents per gallon which the lower sulfur would provide.

In the future, EPA should consider following the European Union's lead in calling for the use of sulfur-free diesel fuel in nonroad vehicles.

In summary, the regulation of nonroad diesel engines and fuels is absolutely essential if we are to make further progress on clean air and avoid preventable death and serious adverse health impacts to many thousands of people every year. EPA's own analysis shows the impressive public health benefits that would result from this proposed rule. EPA should respond to public need by making the practical improvements suggested in these comments and move to finalize the nonroad rule as soon as possible.