EPA proposes new changes to gasoline

Photo by Valeria Sistrunk

The next time you fill up your tank, you might have to pay a little more than you expected. Last week, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a plan to reduce the amount of sulfur in gas by 60 percent.  However, this move could cost you more at the pump. 

David Mica, the executive director of the Florida petroleum council thanks the EPA is underestimating how much this new plan could actually cost. “They’re saying that it would cost somewhere to a penny a gallon,” said Mica, “And we believe it would cost closer to 9 or 10 cents a gallon to produce this type of fuel.”

Regardless of how much it could cost, officials say the change in sulfur will make our air cleaner and save about 2,400 lives a year.  The EPA’s new plan also includes more thorough emissions tests, which could cost about $130 per vehicle.

Alfred Henderson, a Tallahassee resident, says although it could help the environment he hates the idea of gas prices rising any higher than they already have. “Honestly, I would hate it but of course I still have to buy it because my car needs gas, but it would really suck because it’s already expensive.”

The new gas proposal is still in the early stages, and if approved it wouldn’t take effect until 2017.