Oil industry, lawmakers say EPA fuel rule would hike prices at the pump

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

Oil industry representatives and congressional Republicans accused the Obama administration Friday of effectively jacking up gas prices across the country after the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a plan to clean up gasoline and automobile emissions.

The proposal, released Friday morning, aims to reduce sulfur in gasoline by more than 60 percent in 2017. The agency claimed the change would save lives and cut down significantly on respiratory ailments by making the air cleaner.

But critics questioned those claims, and said the plan would impose higher gas prices on hard-hit families.

"Increases in gas prices disproportionately hurt the nation's most vulnerable individuals and families -- with $4 dollar a gallon gas the norm in many parts of the country, we cannot afford policies that knowingly raises gas prices," Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said in a statement. "The Obama administration cannot be more out of touch. With hard-pressed families already struggling to afford each fill-up, Congress needs to take a hard look at any new EPA regulation that may raise the price at the pump."

The oil industry pointed to a study that found the changes could increase the cost of gasoline by up to 9 cents per gallon. The study projected an annual compliance cost of $2.4 billion for the industry.

"There is a tsunami of federal regulations coming out of the EPA that could put upward pressure on gasoline prices," American Petroleum Institute official Bob Greco said. The industry, as well as some in Congress, had urged a delay in the proposed rule.

The EPA estimates a more modest impact. They say it will increase gas prices by less than a penny per gallon and add $130 to the cost of a vehicle in 2025.

________

 

The cost of going green.