In response to a request by New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen on behalf of the New England Governors' Conference, the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management have released a set of recommendations including federal, regional and state actions in response to concerns raised regarding MTBE. "The challenge facing the northeast states and the nation is to identify a pathway that effectively mitigates the environmental risks posed by MTBE while maintaining the public health benefits of the current reformulated gasoline program," the report states.
The group's report identifies a multi-component strategy that includes:
The Northeastern States' group notes that it would take approximately 800 million gallons of ethanol annually to supply the reformulated gasoline market in the eight northeast states. While expressing concerns about the feasibility of delivering adequate supplies of ethanol to the northeast in the near term, the report looks favorably on the potential for ethanol, particularly local biomass ethanol, for "reducing carbon dioxide emissions, eliminating the need for waste disposal, and retaining $120 million per year in the northeast economy."
The report can be found at the Northeast States' website: www.nescaum.org
