Members of Congress Urge Environmental Protection Agency to Deny California WaiverAs the Environmental Protection Agency continues to review California's request for a waiver from the oxygenate requirement in reformulated gasoline, 48 Members of Congress sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner urging her to deny the request due to its lack of technical merit and potential to increase air pollution. "In view of the preponderance of data demonstrating the air quality efficacy of oxygenates, including ethanol, there is no justification for Environmental Protection Agency to grant a waiver of the oxygen requirement," the letter states. "We are sympathetic toward California's strong desire to protect the state's water resources. But 'oxygenates' are not contaminating California's drinking water; MTBE is." While the state has called for the elimination of MTBE use by the end of 2002, refiners in California continue to blend MTBE. According to a report by the California Energy Commission, refiners are using approximately 4 million gallons of MTBE a day in the state, 85 percent of which is imported. "Environmental Protection Agency's failure to dismiss California's waiver request is discouraging refiners from introducing ethanol fuels as expeditiously as possible," the letter concludes. |
