UNITED STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
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2E2Environmental News
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FRIDAY., JULY 11, 1975
EPA EXTENDS AUTO EMISSION STANDARD SUSPENSION TO ALL MANUFACTURERS
The Environmental Protection Agency has extended to all
manufacturers of light duty vehicles a one-year suspension
of 1977 standards for hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide emissions.
The suspension was originally announced March 5, 1975, but
applied only to vehicles produced by Chrysler, Ford and General
Motors.
The Agency said that the findings drawn from.the evidence
presented at a three-week public hearing held^earlier this
year to consider the requests of those three manufacturers
for suspension are applicable to the auto industry as a whole.
Evidence presented at that time led EPA to find that the sus-
pension was essential to the public interest because the only
available technology adequate to meet the standards causes
emissions of sulphuric acid which may constitute a health risk.
The Clean Air Act, as amended by the Energy Supply and
Environmental Coordination Act of 1974, provides that any auto
manufacturer can file an application with the EPA Administrator
for a one-year suspension of the 1977 standards.
For previous suspension decisions, EPA had required that
other applicants show that they had made all good faith efforts
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to meet the more stringent 1977 standards. The present decision
frees all manufacturers from the need to apply for a suspension.
Referring to the March 5 decision, EPA said that it has
"determined that the finding of 'good faith' made in that
decision should also be regarded as applicable to the auto-
mobile industry as a whole. Further investigation of the 1977
'suspension issues would serve no useful purpose, and thus, no
further'applications by other manufacturers are required."
t	»	I ¦
The suspension sets interim standards for, 1977 at the
current Federal interim level of 1.5 grams per,mile for hydro-
carbons (HQ and 15 grams per mile ,for carbon monoxide (CO),. EPA
said that retaining the present interim standards would permit
continued significant reductions in emissions of those pollu-
tants while allowing the industry to develop technology to
deal with the .problem of sulphuric acid emissions from the
catalytic converter,, a device that is widely used for the
control of auto emissions.
The text of the decision appeared in the July 2, 1975,
Federal Register.
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US EPA
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