WASHINGTON - The US Environmental Protection Agency pushed back by six weeks the planned date in 2006 for introducing low-sulfur diesel, saying the delay will help ease the transition to the new cleaner fuel.
The agency said it will issue a rule later this year to move the date that retail outlets must begin selling the low-sulfur diesel fuel from Sept. 1 to Oct. 15, 2006.
Refiners have to cut the amount of sulfur in their diesel fuel by 97 percent to 15 parts per million (ppm) from the current 500 ppm.
The EPA said the later date will allow more time for terminals and service stations to comply with the federal standard.
"This action will help ensure nationwide transition to 15 ppm (of low sulfur diesel) prior to the introduction of new clean diesel trucks and buses," the agency said in a statement late Friday.
During the extended transition period, diesel with a sulfur content of 22 ppm can be marketed as ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, the agency said.
The change will not interfere with the planned introduction of clean diesel vehicles and engines in the autumn of 2006 or reduce the environmental benefits that will be achieved, the EPA said.
Reducing the sulfur content in diesel fuel will allow advanced emission control technology in diesel engines and will substantially improve air quality.
The EPA said last year that refiners were "on target" to meet the new federal standard, with the agency expecting 95 percent of the nearly 3 million barrels of highway diesel produced each day will have the new low-sulfur content by the 2006 implementation date.
When fully implemented, the new requirements will reduce 2.6 million tons of smog-causing emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from diesel exhaust each year, creating the cleanest running heavy-duty trucks and buses in history, the EPA said.
The program will result in the equivalent of eliminating air pollution from 13 million trucks, according to the agency.
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