Houston's Boutique Fuel Plan Moves Forward

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given a tentative go-ahead for the Houston-Galveston area in Texas to adopt a pollution control plan that would include the creation of a boutique diesel fuel, the Associated Press reported.

Boutique fuels are specially formulated blends designed to help qualifying cities and counties meet federally mandated clean air standards. The plan’s purpose is to reduce air pollutants that form ozone, smog’s chief ingredient, by reducing nitrogen oxide emissions in the Houston area by 90% beginning in 2002.

Trucking interests, including the American Trucking Associations, believe boutique fuels, which vary from one locality to another, will pave the way for supply shortages and higher prices as refiners devote their resources to producing fuels with different components.

The proposal under consideration would also limit idling time for heavy-duty vehicles, reduce speed, and establish diesel fuel requirements for on highway and off-road vehicles by 2005.

According to an EPA press release, the agency’s decision will be printed in the Federal Register, and a 30-day public comment period will begin. Under a court order, the EPA must either approve the state plan by Oct. 15, or come up with one of its own.

The EPA plan would put idling restrictions into effect during the so-called “ozone season,” or the period from April to October when ozone is most likely to form.

Texas had originally proposed a before-noon ban on the use of diesel construction equipment, but that provision was taken out by the Texas Legislature, and a Texas district court in June ruled the state could not impose such mandates beyond federal requirements.