New regulations to be announced by the Environmental Protection Agency Friday are set to push the already-high price of gas up by a further 9 cents a gallon, petroleum industry experts are warning.
“There is a tsunami of federal regulations coming out of the EPA that could put upward pressure on gasoline prices. EPA’s proposed fuel regulations are the latest example,” Bob Greco, director of the American Petroleum Institute Downstream Group, told Newsmax.
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The regulations, aimed at reducing the amount of sulfur emissions, will add as much as 9 cents, according to industry experts, although the administration insisted the cost at the pump would be lower.
The Washington Post quoted a senior administration official saying the new standards would cost less than a penny a gallon and have the same environmental impact as taking 33 million cars off the road.
Congressional Republicans lashed out at the new regulations.
“The Obama administration cannot be more out of touch,” GOP Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky, chairman of a House Energy subcommittee, told Newsmax. “With hard-pressed families already struggling to afford each fill-up, Congress needs to take a hard look at any new EPA regulation that may raise the price at the pump.
“This is just another example of an overzealous EPA,” Whitfield said.
The EPA says the rules are needed because high sulfur content reduces the effectiveness of catalytic converters, causing more emissions to be released into the air.
The EPA rule will force 49 states to follow regulations already in place in California that set stricter standards on gasoline’s sulfur content. Currently, states can have 30 parts of sulfur per million, but the new rules will lower it further to 10 parts.
The industry has already cut sulfur content by 90 percent in recent years, from 300 parts per million to 30 parts, at a cost of $10 billion, Charles Drevna, president of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, told The New York Times.
The new rules would cost another $10 billion, Drevna claimed.
The Petroleum Institute’s Greco told Newsmax, “Our government should not be adding unnecessary regulations that raise manufacturing costs, especially when there are no proven environmental benefits.
“We should not pile on new regulations when existing regulations are working,” he added.
Greco said the new rules would increase greenhouse gas emissions because of the “energy-intensive equipment required to comply.”
Republican House Energy Committee Chairman Fred Upton of Michigan said the move was another example of the Obama administration’s misguided energy policy.
“Instead of raising gas prices, the Obama administration should focus on bringing stability and greater supplies to our energy markets by green-lighting projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, which will bring approximately 1 million barrels per day of oil from a close ally to the United States,” Upton told Newsmax.
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The EPA’s proposal has been ready for 15 months but was delayed until after the election to avoid making rising gas prices a major campaign issue, The New York Times reported.
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