Tuesday, June 12, 1973
Witnesses warn of
heating oil shortage
WASHINGTON OP) -- Witnesses at the government oil hearing
yesterday warned of a winter heating oil shortage in addition to the
summer gasoline shortage and said relaxation of air pollution stand-
ards is necessary to increase the country's fuel supplies.
But there was disagreement over whether a mandatory allocation
program for petroleum is needed or whether the present volntary
program should be given more time to prove itself.
ONE OF THOSE urging an immediate mandatory program was
Sen. Carl Curtis of Nebraska who said the shortage was so bad in
his state that a black market for gasoline for farmers had started
up in late May.
"The voluntary program thus far has failed miserably to meet
the needs of agriculture in Nebraska," the Republican senator said.
He was the lead-off witness at the hearing called by the admin-
istration to determine whether its voluntary program is working or
whether it should be made mandatory.
ABOUT 45 witnesses representing oil companies and distributors,
the government, consumers, and trade associations are scheduled to
testify during'the four days of hearings.
Under the voluntary program oil and oil products are supposed
to be distributed by major oil companies to independent refiners and
distributors and to customers on the basis of last year's allocation and
also on the basis of priority need, such as for agriculture and
government use.
The voluntary program has been in effect since May 10 after the
shortage of gasoline and other oil products throughout the country
became apparent. The Senate has approved a bill to make the alloca-
tion program mandatory.
SEVERAL WITNESSES, including Arthur Soule of the Independent
Fuel Terminal Operators Association, urged that the voluntary pro-
gram e given more time to work.
Court Wh
upholds
pollution \
rule
W AS HIN G TON 1P) -
An equally divided Supreme
Court yesterday handed environ-
mentalists a major victory by
enforcing a national policy that
bars significant deterioration of
clean air.
The 4-4 vote, while not deciding
the issue on the merits, has the
effect of affirming a decision on
the issue handed down by the
U. S. Circuit Court here last year.
THE CIRCUIT court ruled that
federal law prohibits any sub-
stantial new air pollution in re-
gions where the air is still pure.
The pollution dispute began
when environmentalists set out
to protect those areas with air
that was cleaner than that re-
quired by federal standards.
The Environmental Protec-
tion Agency has established air
quality standards setting limits
on the permissable levels of pol-
lutants under the Clean Air
Amendments of 1970.
ONE SET of standards de-f
signed to protect human healthBusiness
must e achieved by 1975. No D om s
time limit has been set on a sec-
ond, more stringent set of stan-
dards to protect animals, plants,
property and the environment.
The environmentalists contend-
ed that the law's stated purpose
to "protect and enhance" air
quality means air quality must
not be degraded.
The EPA was poised last No-
vember reluctantly to issue regu-
lations to comply with the ap-
peals court decision. The high
court issued a stay that froze
the situation -while it was un-
der consideration. Today's ac-
tion gives effect to the appeals
court decision.
THE ISSUE was brought to the
high court by the federal gover*-
ment which argued that air
quality need not be maintained
at a level above that required
by federal standards. The gov-
ernment's unsuccessful appeal
saw the issue largely in terms of
economics. "The cost, ultimately
to the public, of reducing pollu-
tion in polluaed areas to meet
the primary and secondary stan-
dards will be substantially in-
creased if no encroachment can
be made on clean air areas," the
government argued.
'THE $UMMAER DAILY
,Pge Nirne
THE SUMMER DAILY Page Nine
SEN. CARL CURTIS (R-Neb.) pressed for a mandatory uel aonucaun progrmuw macu apear
leadoff wvitness in hearings on the government's voluntary fuel allocation program, yesterday. Curtis
said the shortage is so critical in his home-state that a gasoline black market for farmers has develop-
ed.
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