costs $.08gal more...
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.
I do not doubt that using oxygenated gasoline in a lawnmower, chainsaw, or other such device that lacks any sort of catalytic convertor would reduce hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions. But if a car has a properly functioning cat, what does oxygenated gas do except reduce efficiency?
Oh looky, a Politician feels the heat........
Stay out of the blast area surrounding Al Gore's head.
Support corn farmers?
I wish the liars at the EPA who pushed MTBE down out throats would be brought to trial. They knew it would ruin groundwater but lied to get it approved.
That's not what she was saying in '94 when we protested in Sacramento!
Good decision. We have to use 15% ethanol stuff in southeastern WI and find it lowers our mileage from 24 mpg to 20 mpg, plus it costs more as it's a special blend to the refiners. Vehicles made for the past 10 years have computers and cat converters that already do the cleanup job.
Disengenuous at the very least. MTBE is **NOT** an oxygenate, it is an "additive". It enhances NOTHING towards burning petrol in a more efficient manner, and serves only as a means to dispose of a previously unuseable waste product of the petroleum refinement process itself -which has resulted in the contamination of incredible numbers of acquifirs, wells and waterways to the detriment of the environment the various organizations were supposedly tasked to protect.
Not to mention the fact the ethanol dramatically reduces the shelf life of gasoline, which obviously drives up prices.
Over a trillion dollars later in damages to aquifers, and this insane law has finally been laid to rest.
This law forces the taxpayer, as compared to the petro corporations, cover remediation costs or not?
Do you have any information related to MTBE is a waste product?
Translation: Californians will be seeing a jump in the price of petrol immediately (the refineries needing to boost prices to compensate for the increased cost of refining it due to the new requirements), and therefore increasing the taxable revenue generated for the Government so that it can afford to finance such enlightening projects as "Piss Christ" and other critically important areas of spending such as increased salaries for the Pols and their necessary (everyone) staff(s).
This will not increase your gas mileage or the performance of your vehicle, but trust us when we say that a "cleaner burning" fuel is something critical to the existance of our planet, alleged poisoning from the MTBE notwithstanding. Really.
Oh, Man! I can't WAIT to hear what the corn growers 'round here have to say, LOL!
This is going to be fun. ;)
Hooooray! My gas is gonna go down 8 cents! (right?)
I used to have it all at hand but a computer crash means that only on backup CDs is some of the information available so I will research it and get back to you if you are truly interested. While Lee Rodgers was the host of the program I listened to, with all due respect to him he allocated time and space for Melanie Morgan and the mob at 560 KSFO to follow this story, and they were the true leaders in informing the public about the dangers of MTBE -and indeed they interviewed many scientists and officials that stated publicly that they were willing to testify against the EPA and CARB concering the dangers posed by it.
However, I have not been to their website for several years since I became disabled and forced to move out of their immediate coverage area, and in all likelyhood they have more information at their fingertips than I could ever aspire to.
However, if you are truly interested in this topic FReepMail Me and I will looking through My voluminous collection of Data CDs to find the information I collected on that topic (roughly fifty) to answer your question. I am on a friend's PC at the moment, otherwise I would begin now sending links and files as I find them.
I've said it before when you have no gasoline available or only gas at $5.00 per gallon then ethanol will look real good to you.
Lurking'
costs $.08gal more...
your computer crashed how untimely, how unfortunate.
You are exactly dead WRONG.
MTBE is not a waste product of anything: Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is a flammable liquid with a distinctive, disagreeable odor. It is made from blending chemicals such as isobutylene and methanol, and has been used since the 1980s as an additive for unleaded gasolines to achieve more efficient burning.
It definitely effects the combustion of gasoline in internal combustion engines, so you are WRONG again.
Regartds,
Lurking'
Ethanol does nothing for corn growers. Corn is very expensive to raise and the prices remain lower. The only thing ethanol does is make it look like they care when they build an ethanol plant in a rural area to 'aid the environment and give jobs'.
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