By Mandy Warner
A set of national clean car standards that have long been debated are, finally, a reality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced those standards, commonly known as Tier 3, today. The terrific news is that these rigorous tailpipe and cleaner fuel standards will deliver vital and swift health benefits for our communities and families. Tier 3 is indeed a win-win-win for public health and the environment, the economy, and businesses. EPA’s Tier 3 standards will provide benefits from day one by reducing dangerous pollutants in fuel. They’ll cut even more vehicle and fuel emissions when the standards take full effect in 2017 – including reducing the levels of nitrous oxides, volatile organic compounds, air toxics, and fine particulate matter – better known as soot. The health benefits at stake are so high that almost 500 health and medical professionals recently wrote to President Obama, urging prompt finalization of Tier 3 standards:
“Unhealthy air imposes the risk of serious health impacts on millions of Americans. We see those impacts on our patients’ health, in public health, and in our research.”
By 2030, the emission reductions from the tightened fuel and vehicle standards will prevent:
- Up to 2,000 premature deaths
- 2,200 hospital admissions and asthma-related emergency room visits
- 19,000 asthma attacks
- 30,000 upper and lower respiratory symptoms in children
- 1.4 million lost school days, work days and days of minor-restricted activities
The monetized net benefits of the avoided health impacts are as much as $19 billion every year. And we get all of this for the cost of well under a penny per gallon of gas. It comes as no surprise then that the Tier 3 standards enjoy broad support among diverse stakeholders including car companies, manufacturers, environmental justice groups, health groups and medical professionals, labor, blue and red states, environmental groups, faith groups, and advocates for consumers. Utah has had to confront its growing air pollution problem, and its leaders have expressed support for the Tier 3 standards and improving air quality. Republican Governor Gary Herbert reiterated Utah’s commitment in his January 29th State of the State address:
“…We will accelerate the transition to cleaner Tier 3 gasoline and the next generation of lower-emission vehicles. Because nearly 60 percent of our pollution during inversions comes from tailpipes, and the technology already exists to do something about it, there is absolutely no reason to wait. By taking initiative, we ensure these cleaner gasolines and lower-emission vehicles, which burn 80 percent cleaner than current models, are made available in Utah as soon as possible.”
In addition to the public health benefits of the cleaner fuel and vehicles, Tier 3 standards will help many domestic businesses. Emissions control technology makers will see growing business from implementation of the standards. Tier 3 will also help the auto industry meet greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards, and deliver its “cleaner vehicles” promise to America. Many individual oil refiners have stated that Tier 3 will not materially impact their business. In fact, refiners in California are already producing ultra-low sulfur fuel. In the fuel clean-up process at oil refineries, Tier 3 standards could create nearly 25,000 jobs in construction, as oil refineries modernize their facilities. The standards could also create more than 5,000 permanent operations jobs. For every dollar invested in meeting the Tier standards we will receive up to 13 dollars in benefits. This is a significant victory for cleaner air, and it would not have been possible without the tremendous efforts of the more than 47,000 of you who wrote to EPA in support of Tier 3! I now have another favor to ask of you — please send a thank you note to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and her team at EPA for their diligence in getting these life-saving standards across the finish line. And my immeasurable thanks to all of you for your efforts in the fight for cleaner, safer air!
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