Phasing out dirty oil to take a long time

From Metro:

Black smoke will still billow out of apartment buildings and into the city’s air — even with new laws phasing out pollutants.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg passed regulations for the city’s buildings Thursday, requiring owners to switch to cleaner heating oils.

But the ban on the two worst heating oils — which health experts say cause pollution and health problems like asthma — will not completely take effect until 2030.

Starting immediately, owners will be denied a permit to heat their building unless they use natural gas, or step down to a less sulfuric heating oil, such as No. 2.

Building owners will have until 2015 to stop using the most noxious heating oil, No. 6.

But building owners still have until 2030 to keep burning No. 4.