美国环境保护署（EPA）周二宣布，鉴于德克萨斯州柴油价格飙升引发的严重经济问题，该机构将“重新考虑”现有的空气质量法规。这封由EPA署长李·泽尔丁（Lee Zeldin）发给德克萨斯州州长格雷格·阿博特（Greg Abbott）的信件，是对该州官员们的担忧的回应——这些官员认为拜登和奥巴马执政时期制定的法规正在对德克萨斯州的经济造成严重损害。
The Environment Protection Agency announced on Tuesday it would “reconsider” air-quality regulations amid Texas’s diesel price “disaster.”The letter sent by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) responded to concern from officials in the Lone Star State that Biden and Obama-era rules are causing “significant economic harm.”
李·泽尔丁在关于这封信的新闻稿中表示：“德克萨斯州不应因一些不合理的法规要求而受到不公平的惩罚。虽然EPA无法预先判断这些重新审查的结果，但我们承诺会与德克萨斯州合作，确保整个过程能够公正、妥善地进行。”
“Texas should not be unfairly punished with burdensome requirements,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a press release about the letter. “While EPA cannot prejudge the outcomes of these reconsiderations, the agency is committed to working with Texas to make sure this is done right.”
此前，阿博特已于周一宣布德克萨斯州进入柴油价格危机状态，从而解除了对商业运输的一些限制。他允许在德克萨斯州的道路上使用经过染色的柴油（这种未征税的越野燃料通常被禁止在公共道路上使用），并暂停了该州实施的低排放柴油标准（这些标准原本是按照联邦政府的法规制定的）。阿博特在新闻稿中称：“创纪录的柴油价格不仅对相关产业构成了威胁，也增加了每个德克萨斯州家庭的生活成本。”
The review comes after Abbott declared a statewide disaster over diesel prices on Monday, allowing him to lift other restrictions on commercial transportation. He expanded the use of dyed diesel – untaxed off-road fuel typically banned on public roadways – on Texas roads and suspended Texas Low Emission Diesel rules to the federal government limit. “Record prices put both industries at risk and raise costs for every Texas family,” Abbott said in a press release.
根据美国汽车协会（AAA）的数据，目前全国柴油的平均价格已接近每加仑6.40美元；而在一个月前，这一价格仅为0.84美元；一年前则为2.76美元。
Diesel costs nearly $6.40 per gallon on average nationally, according to AAA. The fuel cost roughly 84 cents a month ago and about $2.76 a year ago.
EPA的声明指出，他们将首先审查2015年发布的《臭氧污染防治法规》中关于德克萨斯州某些地区的排放控制要求。此外，他们还将重新评估拜登执政时期EPA对德克萨斯州试图遵守《清洁空气法》（Clean Air Act, CAA）所规定的联邦臭氧质量标准的做法。声明继续写道：“此举旨在确保德克萨斯州的制造商和居民不会因超出其控制范围的污染行为而受到惩罚，从而让该地区能够在保持空气清洁的同时继续实现经济发展。”
The EPA’s announcement outlined the first policy it would be reviewing is the nonattainment classification from 2015 Ozone designations which authorized more stringent emission control strategies in parts of Texas. It will also reconsider the Biden-era EPA disapproval of Texas’s attempts to comply with federal ozone quality standards set out in Clean Air Act (CAA), according to the press release. “This would ensure that manufacturers and residents in Texas are not penalized for pollution originating beyond their borders and control, allowing the region to continue growing and developing while maintaining clean air,” the press release continued.
在参议院审议由艾奥瓦州共和党参议员查克·格拉斯利（Chuck Grassley）及其他农业州共和党人提出的禁止柴油出口的提案时，高昂的柴油价格仍然是许多议员关注的核心问题。该提案旨在通过限制柴油出口来增加国内供应并降低价格。上周，白宫否认了有关其计划实施为期90天的柴油出口禁令的报道。
The high prices remain top of mind for many lawmakers as the Senate considers a proposal endorsed by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and other farm-state Republicans to embargo the export of diesel to increase supply and lower prices at home. The White House denied a report last week that it was planning a 90-day ban on diesel exports.