S.D. Farmers Union to Sen. Rounds: EPA must comply with will of Congress

Earlier this week S.D. Farmers Union President Doug Sombke called upon Senator Mike Rounds, a member of the Senate EPW Committee, to urge EPA to abide by the will of Congress and comply with section 202(1) of the Clean Air Act. Sombke was motivated to write by EPW Chairman John Barrosso’s recent letter to Pruitt criticizing EPA’s failure to comply with certain study requirements under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).

Dear Senator Rounds:

On December 1, 2017, Senator John Barrosso, Chairman of the Senate EPW Committee, wrote EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to urge that his agency comply with certain study requirements of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) under EISA 2007. Criticizing EPA’ s failure to meet the statutory deadlines, Chairman Barrosso stated that “EPA cannot ignore the will of Congress and the requirements of the Clean Air Act for 17 years”.

The South Dakota Farmers Union strongly agrees with Chairman Barrosso. However, EPA’ s dereliction of duty goes well beyond its failures with the RFS. It is well past time for EPA to enforce the mandatory requirements of Section 202(1) of the Clean Air Act, the so-called II clean octane” provision. That law has been on the books since the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, and Congress has since then reaffirmed its importance, including in the 2005 EPACT law, the same one that created the first RFS.

It is shocking that more than a quarter of a century later, EPA continues to defy the will of Congress on a matter of such great importance to the nation’s public health and welfare. It is time that EPA did its duty.

Urban Americans, especially our children, would benefit the most from proper enforcement of Section 202(1), also known as the Mobile Source Air Toxics (MSAT) provision. After months of debate in the 1990 CAAA, Congress made its own endangerment finding about the serious health threats posed by the compounds that comprise 25 – 30% of U.S. gasoline that refiners use to increase octane ratings, benzene-based compounds known as benzene, toluene, ethyl��benzene, and xylene (BTEX). In 1990, Congress was banning the use of lead in gasoline, and wanted to make sure that refiners did not increase BTEX levels, and subject Americans to a repeat of the horrific leaded gasoline experience. (Congress was in part forced to act because, if left unchecked, EPA would have allowed increased BTEX usage, as much as 45 – 50 percent or more!)

In June of this year, EPA’ s Office of Research and Development finally admitted what scientists have been saying for many years now: gasoline exhaust is the predominant source of the most dangerous urban pollutants, including fine particulates and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). ORD found that gasoline accounted for thirteen times more SOA-bound toxics than diesel, a fact which EPA has known but hidden for years. Despite the best efforts of auto manufacturers, the microscopic, highly toxic “nanoparticles” that are produced by the incomplete combustion of BTEX compounds defy capture by even the most advanced emissions control systems. In fact, experts warn that as automakers move to advanced engine technologies such as direct injection (needed to facilitate compliance with tighter fuel efficiency and carbon rules), ultrafine particulate emissions will get significantly worse unless gasoline quality is improved.

Fortunately, these environmental and engineering challenges can be solved in a timely and cost effective manner, without the need for Congress to enact new legislation. EPA has the statutory authority to encourage an orderly transition to commercially available, cost effective, and clean��burning high octane fuels (HOFs) containing mid-level ethanol blends (AKA E30). The U.S. Department of Energy’s national labs, and auto industry scientists, have singled out ethanol’s superior octane boosting properties as the best way to produce 98 -100 RON HOFs that car makers require to power more efficient, higher compression engines. Ethanol’s higher octane rating also comes at a lower cost than oil-derived BTEX compounds, so consumers and the economy are also big winners.

The BTEX health threat is huge, immediate, and growing. Americans have recently been seeing full-page, court-ordered ads paid for by the tobacco companies that warn them of the many dangers of smoking. Years ago, the Surgeon General warned that one of the most dangerous toxics in cigarette smoke are carcinogens known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (P AHs). In its 2001 MSA T rule, EPA listed gasoline P AHs as one of the MSATs it is required to regulate under Section 202(1), and the agency has warned of their potency and pervasiveness in several rulemaking (yet taken no action).

Gasoline BTEX compounds are without doubt the predominant source of urban air toxics, including BTEX and SOA-bound PAHs. In concentrations as low as parts-per-trillion, they seriously damage the fetus, infants, and children, causing premature births, cognitive learning disorders, asthma, and a wide range of cancers. You will find more detail on how serious a threat BTEX/PAHs pose to our most vulnerable citizens in the attached Center for Environmental Health materials.

Senator Rounds, Chairman Barrosso is correct when he says that “EPA cannot ignore the will of Congress …for 17 years”. EPA Administrator Pruitt wrote to you and others Senators on October 19, 2017, saying that” My responsibility as Administrator of the EPA is to faithfully administer the laws pass by the U.S. Congress. This Agency must and will respect those laws.” We therefore strongly urge you to exert your considerable influence as a member of the Senate EPW Committee to ensure that EPA ends its 25 year stonewall, and complies with Section 202(1) of the Clean Air Act. The nation’s children will thank you, as will automakers, consumers, taxpayers, and farmers.

Sincerely,

President, S.D. Farmers Union