WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency will propose a rule on Friday that will cut the amount of sulfur allowed in gasoline by two-thirds to improve the performance of the catalytic converters in engines that fight smog, the agency has told refiners and clean-air advocates.
The proposal has been ready for about 15 months but was delayed until after the election because opponents will argue that it will raise the price of gasoline, according to people familiar with its history.
"They didn't want to have a big fight during an election year," said S. William Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies.
The rule will essentially move the country to the sulfur standards now in place in California, Mr. Becker said.
Refiners said it could raise the price of a gallon by 6 to 8 cents, but clean-air groups said it would be more like 1 cent. The difference depends in part on details of the rule that have not been made public.
News of the proposal was first reported by The Washington Post on its Web site.
Gasoline in the other 49 states can now have up to 30 parts of sulfur per million, and the proposed rule will be 10. The main problem is that at the current level, sulfur reduces the effectiveness of the catalytic converter, which eliminates nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide.
Charles T. Drevna, president of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, the refiners' main trade association, said the companies had in the last few years cut the sulfur content by 90 percent, to 30 parts from 300 parts, at a cost of $10 billion in capital improvements. He said that the proposed cut would cost another $10 billion. Because the process consumes energy, it will raise the carbon dioxide output of refineries.
Mr. Drevna said that the E.P.A. had not demonstrated that the cut was needed to meet existing air quality standards. He said he was hoping the industry would have time to respond.
But Mr. Becker said that when put in place, the rule would cut nitrogen oxide emissions by 260,000 tons, compared with about 10 million tons from all mobile sources. That is the equivalent of 33 million cars, he said.
The cut, Mr. Becker said, was huge, more than the E.P.A. was seeking from its cross-state air pollution rule, a major initiative that was blocked by a court ruling last year.
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