August 1, 2005
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The cost of clean
Less polluting gasoline
hikes price at pump
Stacy Shelton - Staff
When bass guitarist Allan
Mozingo of Atlanta took a recent out-of-state road trip with his band,
Gonzalez, he noticed something about gasoline prices, other than the fact that
a fill-up now costs him more than a hotel room: Georgia's historically low gas
prices are catching up with those of neighboring states.
"Usually Augusta is the cheapest around," said
Mozingo, who drove through the Georgia border city on the way to gigs in
Columbia and Charlotte. "There's not that much difference anymore."
Gasoline prices in Georgia have risen faster than the
national average in the past 18 months, according to federal statistics. The
rising cost of crude oil is lifting fuel prices everywhere, but millions of
Georgians also are paying more for a clean-burning gasoline that most Americans
won't get until next year.
Four years ago, Georgians paid about 14 cents less per gallon
than the national average. Between January and April of this year, the
difference was squeezed down to 6 cents and has been as little as 3 cents,
according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Jessica Mann, who works at an office supplier in Midtown and
lives in College Park, said she is staying at home more because of gas prices.
Last week, she paid $2.30 per gallon at a Shell station at Spring and 14th
streets.
"I just started cutting down on weekend trips and trips
to the park with my kids," said Mann, 32. That means less time with her
family in Butts County, southeast of Atlanta, and more bundling of her errands
by going to one-stop shops.
Gas prices can be almost as volatile as stock prices, and
about as difficult to figure out. But analysts say a major reason Georgia is catching
up to national pump prices is a boutique fuel formulated to reduce smog. For
drivers in metro Atlanta's 13 core counties, the increased price of filling up
could cost more than $200 million a year.
What we're buying, experts say, is cleaner air.
Fewer bad-air days
Since the summer of 1999, when metro Atlanta recorded 69 days
of unhealthy air, pollutant levels have marched steadily downward. Last year
there were 11 bad-air days; there have been 11 already this year. Ground-level
ozone, a component of smog, is so high on bad-air days that it can trigger
asthma attacks and make it difficult for even healthy people to breathe.
A 2004 national study sponsored by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency found that ozone contributes to thousands of premature deaths
from heart and lung maladies every year. The colorless gas is formed in warm
months when sunlight mixes with emissions from a combination of vehicles,
machines, power plants and natural vegetation.
The findings support the EPA's decades-long efforts to force
automakers, oil suppliers and power companies to clean up. Among the tighter
controls is a requirement that by next year, gasoline nationwide must have an
average sulfur content of no more than 30 parts per million, or less than one-tenth
the amount in conventional gas. Scientists and engineers have found that
low-sulfur gasoline results in cleaner tailpipe exhaust, which means less smog.
But Georgia jumped ahead of the federal regulations, ordering
gas stations in 45 counties in and around metro Atlanta to start selling the
cleaner gasoline in 2003.
At the time, federal environmental regulators estimated that
suppliers would spend about 7 cents more per gallon to provide the cleaner gas.
Some of that has most certainly been passed on to consumers. But with so many
other variables to consider --- including price competition, transportation
costs and hurricane damage to Gulf Coast refineries --- it's impossible to know
exactly how much of Georgia's cost increase is due to the cleaner gas.
It's also difficult to know exactly how much the region has
benefited from the cleaner gas. But regulators say it's a main reason metro
Atlanta earlier this year met the old EPA standard for ground-level ozone,
which measured peak levels in one-hour increments.
"We can't say that reducing the emissions out of [power
plant] smokestacks brought it down X amount and reducing emissions from cars
brought it down Y amount," explained Kay Prince, air protection branch
chief for the EPA's Southeastern region. "What we can say is the fuel
program is an integral part of the state's plan to meet the [federal clean air]
standard."
The cleaner gas resulted in a reduction of about 24 tons per
day of nitrogen oxides, a key ingredient in ozone formation. That's less than
10 percent of the total amount of the pollutant coming from vehicle exhausts,
according to the state Environmental Protection Division. And the gains are
offset somewhat by metro Atlanta's growth, as thousands of new drivers hit the
area's roads every year.
Damage to Atlanta economy?
Ujjayant Chakravorty, an economics professor at Emory
University, has examined the effects of environmental regulations on gasoline
prices.
If sustained, the impact of rising gas prices in metro
Atlanta and Georgia relative to the national average will have a ripple effect
throughout the economy, he said. The region could lose the competitive
advantage it has enjoyed, making Atlanta "less attractive for new
businesses," Chakravorty said. "There's really no major difference
between the more expensive gasoline in the country and Georgia now," he
said.
People already here will make adjustments in where they live
and what they drive, he said. "People will pay a premium to live close to
town, for example, because they don't have these added commute costs,"
Chakravorty said. Others will switch from low-mileage sport utility vehicles to
hybrid and other fuel-efficient cars, he said.
Already, metro Atlanta drivers pay more to drive than anyone
else in the country, according to an April study by Oregon demographic research
firm Sperling's BestPlaces. The study found that a metro Atlanta family with
two commuters can expect to spend $4,573 at the gas pump this year, compared
with $4,149 in San Francisco and $4,091 in Los Angeles, where gas prices remain
the highest in the United States.
Gas prices aren't the reason for Atlanta's high number. It's
the grueling commutes.
According to Sperling, a typical metro Atlanta driver
averages 60 miles behind the wheel every workday and another 60 on weekends.
Sperling also factored in the gas wasted sitting in rush-hour traffic.
Chris Echols, 38, beats the average. He commutes 74 miles a
day between Hampton, in Henry County, and the Midtown offices of Atlanta Gas
Light Co. He has stopped buying premium gasoline and lately has talked to his
wife about moving closer to his job.
"We've even talked about getting a hybrid car, but with
two kids that ain't going to work," Echols said as he gassed up the
family's Honda Odyssey van last week at $2.39 a gallon.
When low-sulfur gasoline becomes standard nationwide next
year, metro Atlanta gas prices could start looking pretty good again compared
with our neighbors. The EPA also could succeed in forcing the region to blend
corn-based ethanol into its gasoline. Because ethanol is heavily subsidized by
the federal government, the blend could help bring prices down.
The state maintains that the special Georgia gas without
ethanol is better for air quality and is fighting the EPA rule in federal
court.
A tax 'double whammy'
Another, little-known reason for the rapid rise in Georgia
gas prices is the multiplier effect of state and local sales taxes.
"You're in effect taking a double whammy," said
Michael Kumpf, government affairs director for BP America. "Most states do
not have a sales tax on top of the motor fuel tax. We in effect pay twice.
We're taxed on a tax."
Everyone pays a federal motor vehicle tax of 18.4 cents per
gallon. Georgia, and every other state, also imposes its own motor vehicle tax
on gasoline. Georgia's tax, at 7.5 cents a gallon, is the lowest in the nation
and has been a major reason why gas here has traditionally been so cheap
compared with neighboring states and the national average.
Alabama and South Carolina charge gas taxes of 16 cents per
gallon, while Florida charges 10.1 cents, Tennessee charges 20 cents and in
North Carolina it's 23.4 cents.
But in addition, in Georgia, state and local sales taxes can
add as much as 8 percent to the price of gas. None of our neighboring states
adds a sales tax to the price drivers pay at the pump. In Georgia, as the price
of gas goes up, so does the amount of sales tax.
So is all this additional cha-ching at the local gas station
worth it?
Maybe, depending on how much you're willing to pay for
cleaner air, said Michael Chang, an atmospheric scientist and air pollution
expert at Georgia Tech.
But Chang says the jury is still out on whether cleaner gas
and other environmental controls are the reason metro Atlanta's air has gotten
better. He says the weather --- cooler, wetter summers --- may have had as much
or more to do with the area's progress in air quality.
Last week, when typical summer weather returned with hot,
stagnant conditions, metro Atlanta's ozone levels went through the roof again.
"We're not where we need to be yet," Chang said.
"For me personally, I think [the cleaner gas is] worth it. I think we've
seen improved air quality, and I hope it's as a result of the things we set out
to do."
> ON THE WEB
Which cars have the best gas
mileage: www.fueleconomy.gov
Calculate how much you'll spend
on gas on a trip: www.fuelcostcalculator.com
For more on U.S. energy use:
www.eia.doe.gov
JEROME THOMPSON / Staff
GEORGIA'S GASOLINE REQUIREMENTS
RVP measures how fast gas evaporates. The lower the RVP, the
fewer fumes escape to pollute the air. (Diagram illustrates evaporation at the
pump.)
The lower the sulfur content in the gasoline, the fewer
smog-forming pollutants emitted from the car. (Diagram illustrates pollutants
entering the atmosphere from the back of a car.)
Geogia's gasoline requirements
Georgia requires oil refineries to produce gasoline that
lowers vehicle pollution using two standards: Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP)* and
sulfur content.
---
........................Sulfur
........ RVP in........ content in....Metro
........ pounds per.... parts per.... counties
........ square inch....million**.... included
1995...... 7.0............---
1996...... 7.0............---........13 counties
1997...... 7.0............---........(shown on map
1998...... 7.0............---........of Georgia)
--------------------------------------------------
1999...... 7.0............150........25 counties
2000...... 7.0............150........(shown on map
2001...... 7.0............150........of Georgia)
2002...... 7.0............150
--------------------------------------------------
...................... May / Sept... 45 counties
2003...... 7.0........ 90.... 30.... (shown on map
2004...... 7.0............ 30........of Georgia)
2005...... 7.0............ 30
*June-Sept. only
**Sulfur content of conventional gas is between 300-350 parts
per million
--------------------------------------------------
2005 gas prices
National average vs. metro Atlanta average
(Line graph compares the two average prices from Jan.-July.)
National average vs. Georgia
(Line graph compares the two average prices from 1999-2005*)
........ U.S.....Ga.
1999.... $.92.. $.79
2005*.. $2.21..$2.17
*As of April
---
July 2005 --- Metro Atlanta suffers through two Code Red days
in a row, when even healthy people are warned to avoid outdoor exertion in the
hazy afternoon heat.
June 2005 --- The EPA hails metro Atlanta for finally meeting
a federal standard for ground-level ozone that's been around since 1978; the
standard, which measured one-hour peaks, already has been replaced by a tougher
one measuring the pollutant over eight-hour periods.
1999 --- Metro Atlanta's worst recorded summer for air
quality, with ground-level ozone levels exceeding the federal standard by up to
50 percent.
---
Unhealthy days
Days when ground-level ozone exceeded the federal standard:
(Bar graph shows number of unhealthy days each year from
'99-'05.)
'99... 69
'05... 11
Note: 2005 is to date
---
Metro Atlanta peak ozone levels, as recorded by the EPA:
(Bar graph compares metro Atlanta peak ozone levels to the
Federal standard from '91-'05.)
'99 .126
'05 .092
Parts per million
As measured in eight-hour increments
---
Sources: AAA Auto Club South, Georgia Environmental
Protection Division, U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency; staff research by ALICE WERTHEIM, SHARON GAUS and STACY
SHELTON
---
Photo: AJC Staff
Smog settles over Atlanta in the early-morning light.
AIR POLLUTION MEETINGS
Ever wonder how environmental regulators measure the amount
of smog in the air? In a series of public meetings, the Georgia Environmental
Protection Division will answer that and other questions about air pollution
and its impact on health. EPD officials also will talk about new federal
standards for air quality in metro Atlanta, Macon and Floyd and Murray counties
by 2010. All meetings will consist of an open house with information tables
staffed by EPD experts starting at 6:30 p.m., followed by a presentation and
question-and-answer session. The meetings:
> Aug. 11: Cartersville Civic Center, 435 W. Main St.,
Cartersville.
> Aug. 16: Georgia Mountain Center, 301 Main St., Room A,
Gainesville.
> Aug. 25: Walker County Civic Center, 10052 U.S. 27, Rock
Spring.
> Sept. 1: Carroll County Administration Building, 423
College St., Carrollton.
> Sept. 8: Macon State College, 100 College Station,
Humanities and Social Science Building, Macon.
> Sept. 15: DeKalb Technical College Auditorium, 16200
Alcovy-Jersey Road, Covington.
> For more information, contact Vicky Giles at
404-675-6156 or via e-mail at vicky_giles@dnr.state.ga.us.