Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.energy From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: energy Mon, Apr 20 1992 Date: Mon, 20 Apr 92 05:42:18 EDT Message-ID: 04-20 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update April 20, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network OIL MARKETS AWAIT OPEC MEETING: Uncertainties about oil production from Iraq and possibly even Libya could dominate a special OPEC meeting this week. Ministers of the 13-nation cartel had scheduled the talks in Vienna Friday in case of a serious weakening in crude prices in the spring when oil demand normally drops. But prices have been strong, making it unlikely the group will feel pressure for immediate output cuts. DATA ON TANKS INACCURATE: The Environmental Protection Agency says there are 1.8 million federally regulated underground storage tanks nationwide, but its inventory is incomplete and inaccurate, according to EPA auditors. As a result, they say, the EPA isn't accurately monitoring for leaking tanks - a serious water supply threat - or properly dividing cleanup funds. (For more, see special Tanks package below.) EPA PUTS ONUS ON OIL INDUSTRY: The American Petroleum Institute says it will sue to overturn the EPA's decision to drop a proposal for on-board vapor recovery canisters for cars. Instead, the EPA issued guidelines for putting vapor-recovery equipment on gasoline pumps. The decision ends a 15-year dispute between automakers and the oil industry over who would be responsible for reducing pollution caused by gasoline vapors. API SAYS LAW IGNORED: The American Petroleum Institute, which plans to appeal an EPA decision to require service stations to install vapor-recovery devices on pumps, says the EPA ignored the will of the Congress. API says the 1990 Clean Air Act mandates that EPA set on-board vapor recovery rules. The systems were to have been installed on 40% of a carmaker's sales volume after the standards were in place. HYDROGEN-POWERED CAR STANDS OUT: Mazda's hydrogen-powered HR-X concept car is among the standouts at the the New York International Automobile Show, which runs through Sunday. The HR-X burns hydrogen and its exhaust is mainly water vapor. Mazda's Takanori Minami says a special tank keeps the explosive hydrogen fuel safely contained, making hydrogen power "a more promising technology for the future than the electric car." WATKINS TO ATTEND CONFERENCE: Secretary of Energy James D. Watkins this week will announce an expansion of the federal government program supporting waste minimization and to participate in a National Technology Initiative conference. Wednesday, Watkins will inspect a waste minimization project at PPG Industries' Cleveland plant and describe expansion of the Energy, Economics and Environment (NICE3) program. DECISION NO SURPRISE TO NPPC: The Northwest Power Planning Council expected and prepared for Friday's decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service to list Snake River chinook salmon as threatened, the group said. The NPPC said it began revising its fish and wildlife program last year and expects to complete the revision in August. The NPPC prepares a long-range energy and conservation plan for the Northwest. GASOLINE PRICE PROBE SOUGHT: The North Carolina towns of Manteo, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, Southern Shores and Nags Head are demanding a probe into the price of gasoline on the Outer Banks, where motorists pay several cents more per gallon than on mainland. A 1989 probe yielded insufficient evidence to bring a case to trial, state Assistant Attorney General Kip Sturgis said Sunday. DRILLING TO COME TO NAT'L PARK: Helena (Mont.) National Forest officials say they don't expect oil and gas exploration or drilling in the forest until the late 1990s. Forest officials will prepare a draft environmental impact statement on oil and gas leasing in December 1993, with a final version due by September 1994. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON TANKS: TANK OWNERS NOT COMPLYING: Funds for cleanup of underground storage tank leaks are allocated to states according to a formula based in part on false data. In a report dated March 27, auditors from the EPA's office of inspector general found that "large numbers" of tank owners weren't complying with a requirement that they register their tanks with state agencies, which collect it for the EPA tank inventory. LEAKING TANKS A THREAT: Leaking underground tanks "pose a serious hazard" to the USA's water supply, the auditors noted: One gallon of petroleum product can contaminate 1 million gallons of drinking water. EPA officials for a six-state region covering Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio and Minnesota "estimate that one-third of the regulated tanks in those states are not recorded." MORE PROBLEMS EXPECTED: In a 1987 EPA survey, 43 states said leaking tanks were a major source of groundwater contamination. Groundwater provides drinking water for half the USA. Between October 1987 and July 1991, the EPA reported more than 116,000 cases of petroleum products or hazardous substances being released from regulated tanks. The total is expected to increase to 350,000 during the next five years. EPA AGREES WITH FINDINGS: The auditors found that much of the data in the inventory was either out of date or inconsistently reported from state to state. In a March 5 response to a draft of the auditors' report, EPA administrators generally agreed with the findings and promised to work with the states to identify unregistered tanks and validate data. They balked at changing formula for allocating cleanup funds. (End of package.) Energy Editor: William Snoddy. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM