NEW YORK CITY—The Bloomberg administration and the City Councilhave reached an agreement on a bill intended to reduce the legallimit of sulfur used in heating oil. The measure, which the councilis expected to pass later this week, is intended to complement theadministration’s PlaNYC sustainability initiative, Mayor MichaelBloomberg says in a statement. It will be the first local law tocome out of the city’s efforts to decrease environmental pollutantsfrom heating oil and improve air quality.

Known as Intro 194-A, the bill will cap the sulfur content ofnumber 4 heating oil at 1,500 parts per million, half the currentlegal limit, while requiring that all heating oil used citywideafter Oct. 1, 2012 contain at least 2% biodiesel fuel. Althoughnumber 4 oil is consumed in only about 4,000 of the city’s 975,000buildings, they’re generally larger structures, while the oilitself is “among the dirtiest used in the city,” says Adam Freed,acting director of the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning andSustainability, in a release.

The bill’s sponsors, who include James Gennaro, chairman of thecouncil’s environmental protection committee, cite an EnvironmentalDefense Fund report that says the combustion of heating fuel causes“approximately 14% of the local emissions of fine particulatematter, more than vehicle traffic or power plants. Particulatematter and other pollutants, such as sulfur and heavy metals,contribute to asthma, heart disease and other public healthproblems.” Using biodiesel fuel, they write in Intro 194-A, would“reduce the emission of air pollutants, reduce cleaning andmaintenance costs, increase the ease of handling fuel oils, provideother operational benefits, strengthen the alternative fuelsmarket, support regional farmers and local businesses and increaseenergy independence and the diversity of our energy supply.”