Acid Rain Provisions

EPA's Acid Rain Program was established by Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) to reduce acid rain in the continental United States. The Acid Rain Program will achieve a 50 percent reduction in sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from utility units. The SO2 reduction program is a flexible market-based approach to environmental management. As part of this approach, EPA allocates ``allowances'' to affected utility units. Each allowance is a limited authorization to emit up to one ton of SO2. At the end of each calendar year, each unit must hold allowances in an amount equal to or greater than its SO2 emissions for the year. Allowances may be bought, sold, or transferred between utilities and other interested parties. Those units whose annual emissions are likely to exceed their allocations may install control technologies or switch to cleaner fuels to reduce SO2 emissions or obtain additional allowances. Section 410(h) of the Clean Air Act provides allowances for small diesel refineries that desulfurize diesel fuel from October 1, 1993 through December 31, 1999. Small refineries are not otherwise affected by the Acid Rain Program and do not need the allowances to comply with any provision of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the allowances serve as a financial benefit to small diesel refineries desulfurizing diesel fuel. The following table lists the allowances allocated to eligible small diesel refineries for desulfurization in 1998. A total of 25,617 allowances are allocated to 16 refiners. These allowances have a compliance year of 1999.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ Refinery name or Refiner location Allocation ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Big West Oil...................... Flying J, Utah...... 1,500 Cenex............................. Laurel, Montana..... 1,500 Frontier.......................... Cheyenne, Wyoming... 1,500 Giant............................. Giant............... 1,350 Ciniza, New Mexico.. 1,475 Golden Bear....................... Oildale, California. 142

Holly............................. Lea, New Mexico..... 1,500 Navajo, New Mexico.. 500 Montana............. 289 Hunt.............................. Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 1,386 Inland............................ Woods Cross, Utah... 564 Kern.............................. Bakersfield, 1,500 California. La Gloria......................... Tyler, Texas........ 1,500 Lion.............................. El Dorado, Arkansas. 1,500 Pennzoil.......................... Atlas............... 1,500 Rasville............ 470 Pride............................. Abilene, Texas...... 238 Sinclair.......................... Little America, 1,500 Wyoming. Sinclair, Wyoming... 1,500 Tulsa, Oklahoma..... 1,500 U.S. Oil & Refining............... Tacoma, Washington.. 1,056 Wyoming Refining.................. New Castle, Wyoming. 647 ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Requests for allowances for desulfurization during 1999 are due no later than April 1, 2000. Allowances allocated in 2000 will have a compliance year of 2000.

Dated: April 28, 1999. Brian J. McLean, Director, Acid Rain Division. [FR Doc. 99-11830 Filed 5-10-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P