Posted on 12/31/2003 9:54:59 AM PST by NYer
Consumers are bracing to pay more at the pumps when a ban on a controversial gas additive takes effect Thursday.
Local gas suppliers are replacing MTBE, an additive designed to cut air pollution that was found to contaminate drinking water, with other additives such as ethanol, a corn-based fuel.
The Capital Region's gas retailers say that the switch in additives is largely complete, but they're warning consumers to expect price hikes.
No one knows exactly what to expect. But prices at Stewart's gas stations are going up about 5 cents per gallon immediately, with short-lived increases of 10 cents more if the ready supply of ethanol runs short, according to the company's president, Bill Dake.
Those increases are less than were projected. A federal study had warned in November that increases of 30 cents per gallon were possible. But industry officials now say that is not likely.
Still, some local consumers interviewed Monday while they filled their tanks say any hike is too much.
"I don't need another expense," said Vanessa Carter of Albany. She said that two children in college and a recent rise in heating fuel already squeezes her budget. "I can't take anything else going up at this point," Carter concluded.
Other drivers shrugged their shoulders at the increase, saying that they don't mind paying more if the ban will protect their health. "As long as it's better for the environment, I think it's a great idea," said Heather Groshans of Albany adding, "Assuming they'll protect us from price-gouging."
State officials are looking to do just that, setting up a hot line to receive complaints. Consumer and environmental officials, along with Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, are encouraging consumers who suspect gouging to call (800) 214-4372 or report it on the Web at www.nysconsumer.gov.
"If we get any complaints, we'll get to the bottom of them," said state Consumer Protection Board spokesman Jon Sorensen.
Retailers began adding MTBE -- methyl tertiary butyl ether -- to gasoline after Congress passed the 1990 Clean Air Act, which required that gasoline be reformulated in order to cut air pollution. However, reports soon surfaced that the highly volatile MTBE is soluble and can leak from underground fuel storage tanks and into drinking water supplies.
Communities from Long Island to Hyde Park in Dutchess County discovered MTBE, which is believed to cause cancer and other health problems, in their drinking water. In response, New York lawmakers passed an MTBE ban in 2000. That is the ban which takes effect Thursday.
"This will have major benefits for our clean drinking water and public health in New York state," said Ned Sullivan, executive director of the nonprofit environmental group Scenic Hudson.
Connecticut and California also are banning MTBE as of Jan. 1 and 14 other states have passed laws that will take effect over the next few years.
Not everyone thinks the new law is a good idea. Some experts and gasoline retailers say that adding ethanol could make local air dirtier even as it lowers the risk of water pollution.
"There's no question that MTBE is a problem," said Dake. "The issue is whether ethanol is the solution."
Adding ethanol to gasoline actually can increase the quantity of ground-level air pollution -- especially in the summer, when heat makes the fuel more volatile, said Peter Iwanowicz, director of environmental health at the state office of the American Lung Association.
MTBEs should have been banned, Iwanowicz and other environmentalists say, but they believe that the cleanest gasoline would be free of any additives. "There is a better way to get both cleaner air and cleaner water," said Iwanowicz, "to get rid of the oxygenates altogether."
Those claims haven't been borne out by scientific research, according to ethanol producers. "We hear these rhetorical attacks on ethanol," said Monte Shaw of the Renewable Fuels Association. "But when the rubber meets the road, they don't add up."
Ethanol's opponents plan to take their fight to Washington. "We're hoping that Congress and President Bush will amend the Clean Air Act and change federal policy so that no oxygenate is required as an additive to fuels," Sullivan said.
But for now, ethanol is replacing MTBE, and the most clear impact will be the increase in prices at New York gas stations. Most drivers say they'll adjust.
"As long as it's going to make the environment cleaner," said Everol Gordon of Albany, "I'm all for it. I've got my kids to think about."
Environmentalists - a hazard to the environment.
Ironic ... they jacked up the prices to add MTBE in the first place and now we have to pay more to replace it. You got it right, though ... environMENTALs!
And ... it's "good for our children's future" (/sarcasm off)
Because storage farms must be emptied, and production facilities changed over.
It is the corollary of what happened with the economy when Clinton and Congress got all tied up and couldn't muck with the tax codes as much as usual.
It was a group of ultra-conservatives in Fairbanks, Alaska who started the ball rolling on banning MBTE. Interesting that the Greenies have adopted the cause as their own. Maybe the Greenies will adopt some other Conservative causes such as restoring the first ten Amendments to the Constitution to their original intent.
Mr. Carter was reported to be deeply saddened.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.
No that's what the ethanol producers get.
US DoE ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
the cost of producing ethanol ... $1.10 per gallon for ethanol produced from corn and to today's wholesale price for gasoline of between $0.80 and $0.90 per gallon
And how can the producer stay in business? "Your taxes at work"
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