The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has held two of five scheduled hearings on the issue of reducing sulfur in diesel fuel. The EPA wants a 97-percent reduction in sulfur from diesel fuel by the year 2006. The EPA is proposing more stringent emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles. The new standards proposed would reduce smog-causing emissions from trucks and buses by 95 percent beyond current levels. Soot emissions also would be reduced by 90 percent beyond current levels. In order to meet these more stringent standards for diesel engines, the proposal requires the sulfur content of diesel fuel to be capped at 15 parts per million, a 97-percent reduction. At the first of the hearings, conducted in New York on June 19, the agency heard testimony from doctors, lawyers, and activists who said exhaust from diesel fuel is polluting the air and contributing to asthma rates in U.S. cities. Red Cavaney, a petroleum industry official, agreed that sulfur emissions need to be reduced, but he said a 90 percent reduction is more reasonable. The higher fuel costs resulting from reducing sulfur 97 percent could harm small businesses with small fleets of vehicles such as bakeries and nurseries, farmer-owned refineries and, ultimately, all consumers, Cavaney said. The EPA plans to finalize the new standards by the end of the year, and the standards will take effect in 2006-2007.