PA Is Latest State to Consider Low-Sulfur Heating Oil Mandate
Pennsylvania’s state capitol is the scene of the latest push for low-sulfur heating oil. (image: media.pennlive.com)
On Wednesday Pennsylvania State Sen. Ted Erickson introduced a bill (full text of Senate Bill 1282 available here) that would require heating oil to have a maximum sulfur content of 15 parts per million and be blended with biodiesel. With this bill Pennsylvania joins a growing list of states to propose a shift to a cleaner heating fuel for home heating oil consumers.
The bill in Pennsylvania would amend a 2008 bill known as the Biofuel Development and In-State Production Incentive Act. The low-sulfur mandate would go into effect on May 1, 2011; heating oil in Pennsylvania is currently allowed to have a sulfur content of up to 2,000 parts per million. The requirement for heating oil to include 10 percent biodiesel would go into effect on May 1, 2013.
Just yesterday HeatingOil.com reported on the latest call for New York State to mandate low-sulfur heating oil, in the form of an op-ed written jointly by the CEOs of the New York Oil Heating Association and the American Lung Association of New York. Wherever legislation requiring low-sulfur heating oil has been proposed, the heating oil industry has been a vocal supporter. It’s no different in Pennsylvania, where the Pennsylvania Petroleum Marketers support the new legislation, according to the blog PA Environment Digest.
New York, New Jersey, Maine and now Pennsylvania—low-sulfur heating oil could be on the way in those states, and the rest of the Northeast may not be far behind.
This is good news for heating oil consumers because low-sulfur heating oil would be a cleaner and more efficient fuel. Greater efficiency means that more heating oil is converted into energy to heat your home, and a cleaner fuel means lower maintenance costs. Low-sulfur heating oil also emits less sulfur dioxide, a pollutant linked to smog and health problems, which means cleaner air for heating oil consumers and their neighbors.
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[...] As HeatingOil.com has reported recently, several Northeastern states are in the process of applying new low-sulfur mandates to heating oil. To meet increased demand for low-sulfur heating oil, some refiners will simply produce more [...]
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