CARB Gas Proposal Too Risky For Consumers, Economy Agency Fails to Consider Significant Cost and Supply Impacts.GLENDALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 1999-- The California Air Resources Board's (CARB) proposed changes to the state's cleaner-burning gasoline gasoline or petrol, light, volatile mixture of hydrocarbons for use in the internal-combustion engine and as an organic solvent, obtained primarily by fractional distillation and "cracking" of petroleum, but also obtained from natural gas, by requirements pose serious risks to California consumers and the economy, a petroleum industry spokesman said today. "The Air Board's own staff estimates its proposal will increase the cost of gasoline by up to 7 cents per gallon, decrease the state's refining refining, any of various processes for separating impurities from crude or semifinished materials. It includes the finer processes of metallurgy, the fractional distillation of petroleum into its commercial products, and the purifying of cane, beet, and maple sugar capacity by ten to fifteen percent, and require $1 billion in capital improvements at the state's refineries," warned Douglas F. Henderson, executive director of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA WSPA World Society for the Protection of Animals WSPA Western States Petroleum Association WSPA Washington State Psychological Association WSPA Washington State Pharmacy Association WSPA Washington State Paralegal Association (Seattle, WA) ). "Our members will comply with whatever regulations the Board adopts," continued Henderson. "It's up to CARB to decide how great a burden it wants to impose on consumers and the economy." "CARB basically has two options," said Henderson. "It can amend its existing tough cleaner-burning gasoline standards to require the removal of MTBE MTBE Methyl-tert-butyl-ether Surgery An aliphatic ether that rapidly dissolves cholesterol stones in vivo, introduced under local anesthesia via a percutaneous transhepatic cholecystectomy catheter, as a non-invasive method for treating gallstones; after injection, while maintaining the same level of emission reductions. This option carries the least risk to consumers." "Alternatively, the CARB Board can adopt the tighter standards proposed by their staff, even though there is no legal obligation for them to do so. This option places consumers at far greater risk." The California Energy Commission The California Energy Commission is California’s primary energy policy and planning agency. Created in 1974 and headquartered in Sacramento, the Commission has responsibility for activities that include forecasting future energy needs, promoting energy efficiency through (CEC (Central Electronic Complex) The set of hardware that defines a mainframe, which includes the CPU(s), memory, channels, controllers and power supplies included in the box. Some CECs, such as IBM's Multiprise 2000 and 3000, include data storage devices as well. ) has concluded that the new standards could lead to less gasoline being manufactured in California at higher cost. Current conditions leave little or no margin in the case of refinery upsets or outrages -- with the capacity reduction anticipated under the proposed CARB3 gasoline rules the CEC predicts that price volatility will be common. A number of stakeholders Stakeholders All parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. outside the petroleum industry, which have suffered through previous periods of tight supply and related price volatility, have expressed their profound concern with the economic impact of this rulemaking. Among these are the California Chamber of Commerce, California Commerce is a suburb of Los Angeles in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 12,568 at the 2000 census. It is bordered by Vernon on the west, Los Angeles on the northwest, East Los Angeles on the north, Montebello on the east, Downey and Bell Gardens on Manufacturers Association, and California Farm Bureau Federation. The Automobile Club and California Taxpayers Association have also raised strong concerns over the cost and supply implications of the CARB proposal. "It's important to note that California's existing cleaner-burning gasoline standards are already the toughest in the world," observed Henderson. "Even in view of the significant challenges of an MTBE phase-out, we continue to support those strict standards." He concluded: "Our members are committed to meeting the state's demand for clean burning gasoline at the least possible cost to California consumers. Adoption of the CARB3 rules will significantly compromise these goals, at the expense of consumers and the economy. CARB has the power to make it easier on consumers, or make it a lot harder." The CARB Board is scheduled to vote on the proposed new gasoline regulations at its Dec. 9 meeting in Sacramento, Calif. The Western States Petroleum Association is the non-profit trade organization representing major refineries doing business in the Western United States Noun 1. western United States - the region of the United States lying to the west of the Mississippi River West Santa Fe Trail - a trail that extends from Missouri to New Mexico; an important route for settlers moving west in the 19th century . |
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