Connecticut ping!
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Posted on 02/15/2006 4:51:41 PM PST by John W
WASHINGTON - States no longer will have to add corn-based ethanol or MTBE to gasoline to fight pollution - a requirement that costs as much as 8 cents a gallon - under rules announced Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency.
They eliminate a mandate from the 1990 Clean Air Act that gasoline used in metropolitan areas with the worst smog contain 2 percent oxygen by weight. The law did not say which oxygenate must be used, but most refiners use either ethanol or methyl tertiary butyl ether, known as MTBE.
California, New York and Connecticut unsuccessfully had asked the EPA for a waiver of the requirement because the states had banned MTBE after finding it polluted the groundwater. The states were forced to use ethanol, which they contend worsened pollution problems.
In denying the waiver request, most recently in June, the EPA said the states had not shown that using an oxygenate had prevented or interfered with their ability to meet federal air standards. Some officials in the states contended the denial was political because ethanol production is a boon to corn growers in the Midwest.
The rules announced Wednesday put in place a part of the energy bill the president signed in August that did away with the 2 percent oxygenate requirement.
"The federal requirement has forced California's refiners to use an oxygenate even though they can make cleaner-burning gasoline without MTBE or ethanol," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "The announcement means that California refiners will finally be allowed to make gasoline that is cleaner burning than what they are making today."
The rules will take effect nationwide on May 6 and in California 60 days after their publication in the federal register, which should happen within the next three months, said EPA spokesman John Millett. California has a different status under clean air laws than the rest of the country because of the state's pollution problems.
Parts of more than a dozen states fall under the 2 percent oxygenate requirement, according to the EPA, while others use oxygenates voluntarily. Nationwide, about 30 percent of gasoline contains oxygenates.
The states required to use oxygenates in certain areas are: California, Connecticut, New York, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
Oxygenate additives on average increase the price for gasoline by 4 cents to 8 cents per gallon, the EPA estimates. But the agency says the benefits include at least 100,000 tons per year fewer smog pollutants nationally, equivalent to the tailpipe emissions of 16 million vehicles.
A follow up from the EPA webpage: http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/chemfact/f_mtbe.txt
Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (also called MTBE) is a colorless,
flammable liquid with a strong odor. It does not occur naturally but is
produced in very large amounts (9.1 billion pounds in 1992) by 27
companies in the United States. US demand for MTBE is likely to continue
to grow rapidly. The almost exclusive users of MTBE are companies that
add the chemical to gasoline. MTBE is added to gasoline to improve
combustion and to reduce harmful carbon monoxide emissions.
If it was a waste product why does it take 27 companies to produce it,sir?
Your have bad data.
Lurking'
I'll take my chances. Our farm is only two miles outside of town. I ride my bike in for supplies when needed. We're pretty self-sufficent, otherwise. ;) (Yes, I know...Ethanol-fueled trucks bring supplies into town, blah, blah, blah...and if that dries up, I'll find another way to get what I need to live...which isn't much these days.)
I'm a free market type. If it's subsidized by the Government because the general population doesn't WANT it anyway, then crammed down our throats by the Legislature...I've found that I generally don't need it in the first place. That's just my little rule of thumb. :)
And just when will the government start subsidizing my laying hens so I can find a way to make fuel from chicken chit? I've got plenty. There's got to be a way! I mean, isn't pig chit supposedly the next Energy Savior? Right behind Ethanol? How much further down the line can chicken chit be as a fuel source? ;)
The price of E85 - a fuel that's 85% ethanol made from grain and 15% conventional gasoline - is higher than that of gasoline, even though E85 has only 72% as much energy. The U.S. Department of Energy says a vehicle has to use 1.4 times as much E85 as gasoline to go the same distance.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1579257/posts
Watch out. The Greenies will be turning green.
Sanity bump
Sorry you feel you are too enlightened to follow their links, but I reiterate that if you wish I will provide what links and information I can in this matter. MTBE is extremely dangerous, mostly because it displaces the water molecule in many processes so that alone should have sent up a red flag. FReeRegards!
BUMP what you said.
I hate to break the news to Erica Werner, but MTBE was not added to fight pollution per se. It was added to enhance the octane rating of raw gasoline in place of tetra-ethyl lead. Lead is a much more effective octane enhancer, but, unfortunately, is also a pollutant.
It was the all-knowing, all-seeing and all-wise EPA that mandated MTBE which, in itself, is a rather serious pollutant as it percolates down into underwater aquifers.
If it was a waste product why does it take 27 companies to produce it,sir?
From what I understand, whether wanted or not, MTBE is a by-product of petroleum refineries. Were it not for the government-generated demand as a gasoline additive, what would MTBE be besides a waste product?
So does this mean I will be able to buy a normally priced tank of gas during my remaining lifetime ..?? I don't think I'll hold my breath waiting!
Connecticut ping!
Please Freepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent Connecticut ping list.
Don't forget Dr Bill Wattenburg was part of that group slamming the CA gov over MTBE. I think his site is:
http://www.kgoam810.com/viewentry.asp?ID=325827&PT=PERSONALITIES
Naturally.
Oh, there you go, asking logical questions of the EPA!
Hear! Hear!
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