Sen. Chuck Grassley today hailed the announcement that the Environmental Protection Agency has denied the State of California's request to waive the federal oxygen content requirement for reformulated gasoline.
The denial of an oxygenate waiver is expected to sharply increase demand for ethanol as refiners decrease the use of the oxygenate MTBE in reformulated gasoline. California is expected to ban the use of MTBE starting in 2003 due to concerns that the oxygenate contaminates water supplies. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, it will take roughly 580 million gallons of ethanol to meet California's entire demand for reformulated gasoline oxygenates in 2003.
Following is a statement from Grassley on today's announcement:
"This decision is a win for America's corn producers, a win for the environment and a win for California's consumers. Not only does the family farmer benefit from the increasing demand for corn, but consumers also benefit because they will be able to buy a cheaper, cleaner burning fuel that improves air and water quality.
"The denial doesn't increase the costs of gasoline in any way. In fact, the California Energy Commission estimates that ethanol will cost two cents less per gallon than gasoline without it. I only wish President Clinton had denied the California waiver two years ago so American farmers wouldn't have lost billions of dollars in income."