FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 1999

Contact: John Leary, WGA, (303) 623-9378 or Bill Grantham, NTEC, (505) 242-2175

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- The Western Regional Air Partnership today approved a consensus recommendation that would help keep small refineries in business as they implement federal regulations for improving air quality by reducing the sulfur content in gasoline.

The WRAP, whose membership includes Western states, tribes, and federal agencies, will forward its recommendations to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has proposed standards for new vehicles and the sulfur content of gasoline in order to dramatically reduce motor vehicle emissions early in the next century.

The Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission, a predecessor to the WRAP, recommended in 1996 the adoption of cleaner fuel standards and said the sulfur content in gasoline and diesel should be examined. When EPA issued its proposed rule this year, 10 members of the Western Governors' Association wrote to EPA Administrator Carol Browner expressing concern that this proposal could force the closure of some Western small refineries, resulting in gasoline shortages and price increases in the Intermountain West. The governors asked the WRAP's Mobile Sources Forum to determine whether a regional standard and further technical studies are needed.

The forum, a broad-based group of stakeholders that includes representatives of government, environmental groups and the automobile and refinery industries, recommended a national one-year compliance extension of the standard for small refiners and relatively stringent interim gasoline sulfur standards. It is also proposing a limited banking and trading program that will include incentives for early sulfur reductions and an anti-backsliding provision.

The WRAP's co-chairs, Gov. Mike Leavitt of Utah and Gov. Lloyd Tortalita of the Acoma Pueblo, praised the forum's work.

"The Mobile Sources Forum and the WRAP have done a remarkable job of reaching agreement, despite some strongly held, differing views among the states and various constituencies," Leavitt said. "Their work is an excellent example of the governors' Enlibra principles at work, which advocate inclusive, consensus-based processes. Although some differences of opinion may remain, this agreement is widely endorsed. We will work with EPA to include WRAP's recommendations in their rule-making."

"Tribes were actively involved in these negotiations, and while I cannot speak for all tribes in the region, I believe that the recommendations are consistent with our deeply held commitment to the environment," added Gov. Tortalita. "At the same time, they provide reasonable accommodation to legitimate economic concerns. I commend the Mobile Sources Forum for setting this very positive example for inter-governmental and stakeholder cooperation."

The WRAP's recommendations will help the West achieve more than a 70 percent reduction in emissions from motor vehicles while avoiding potential disruptions in gasoline supply. These emission reductions will help to significantly reduce regional haze and the threat to public health from air pollution in Western states.

Additional information on the WRAP and the Mobile Sources Forum recommendations can be found on the WRAP Web site at www.wrapair.org.