Gore announces tougher standards for water heaters

Wednesday, April 19th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is proposing tougher efficiency standards for residential water heaters, Vice President Al Gore announced today, the latest in a number of environmental initiatives from Gore's office as Earth Day approaches.

Earlier in the week, the Democratic presidential candidate announced a proposal to protect drinking water.

The new standards for water heaters, being developed by the Energy Department, will reduce costs for consumers and keep millions of tons of greenhouse gases from reaching the atmosphere, Gore said in a statement.

The final water heater standard, if finished later this year, would go into effect in 2004.

"These new standards will help save consumers money on energy bills and reduce greenhouse gases and other pollution," Gore said in a draft announcement obtained Tuesday.

Although first word Tuesday of the planned announcement took some people at the Energy Department by surprise, officials at both the department and the White House said today Gore's office and the department had been working closely on the issue.

The White House and department "have been working on this initiative for some times," said Paul Bledsoe, a spokesman for the White House Climate Change Task Force. DOE spokeswoman Natalie Weimer said the department was "fully involved."

Gore says the more-efficient water heaters will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 36 million metric tons over 20 years, equal to taking 28 million cars off the road, and help curtail the prospects of global warming.

Americans spend $20 billion a year to heat water, which accounts for 14 percent of all household energy requirements, Gore noted in a news release. Over the typical 12-year life of a water heater, the average consumer would save about $100, the Energy Department estimates.

On Monday, Gore announced the Environmental Protection Agency was proposing new requirements on 157,000 water systems that get water from public wells so as to reduce the risks from bacteria and parasites.