Arco to Drop Its Pollution Permit Bid : Environment: The firm cites negative public reaction. It had sought to use its ‘clean’ gasoline to gain credits for offsetting emissions from refinery.

Citing negative public reaction, Arco Products Co. announced Thursday that it will drop a request to the South Coast Air Quality Management District to increase operations--and pollution--at its Carson refinery because its EC Premium gasoline emits fewer smog-forming chemicals than traditional gasoline.

Arco’s low-emission gasolines have been heavily touted in a $15-million advertising campaign that included giant scoreboards clicking off the pounds of pollutant eliminated by their use.

After learning of Arco’s application for pollution credits, environmentalists charged that its “drive away smog” advertising was misleading because the company was seeking to erode the product’s benefits with additional emissions from its refinery smokestacks.

The company’s negotiations with the AQMD began last November. After the discussions were publicized in newspaper articles this week, angry reaction followed from commentators in local news media. In addition, “the public has expressed concern to people within the company,” said Arco spokesman Douglas Elmets.

A company executive, who asked to remain unidentified, said: “An error doesn’t become a mistake until you fail to correct it.”

Arco had sought pollution credits under a district regulation governing construction of facilities or expansion of operations. To get permission for such changes, companies must guarantee that the new pollution is offset by an even greater reduction in pollution elsewhere in the region.

Traditionally, reductions come from firms that shut down or switch to cleaner manufacturing processes. The businesses that cut pollution can use the credits themselves or sell the offset rights.

AQMD rules authorize credits for low-polluting products but Arco was the first to apply.

Arco officials had said that they would use some of their credits to add processing units for producing more “clean” gasoline to further reduce smog. Elmets said, however, that the decision to drop the request will not affect plans to increase clean-gas production.

“We are intent on pursuing our clean fuels program,” he said. “It will be more difficult; it will be more costly, but somehow we will find a way.” He added that he did not expect pump prices to change.

In its application, Arco said use of EC-Premium gasoline annually eliminates about 800 tons of hydrocarbons--a major component of smog--and nearly 17,000 tons of carbon monoxide from local skies. Under district rules, the company asked for credit for 534 tons of hydrocarbons and more than 11,000 tons of carbon monoxide.

The Carson refinery emits about 2,000 tons of hydrocarbons and 200 tons of carbon monoxide yearly.

The AQMD planned to “give favorable consideration to Arco’s request subject to a few conditions,” according to an internal memo.

The decision to withdraw the application gladdened environmentalists. “It indicates that Arco knew that the deal wouldn’t fly if they couldn’t do it on the sly,” said Tim Little, executive director of the Coalition for Clean Air. “As soon as the issue breaks publicly after five months of negotiations, they back off.”

Veronica Kun, staff scientist for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said, “I think it was the honorable thing to do.”