Legislation introduced by California Representative Brian Bilbray, that would exempt California from the federal reformulated gasoline oxygen requirement, stalled when it was withdrawn recently from a scheduled mark-up by the House Commerce Committee. House Resolution 11 lacked the support of a majority of Committee members, many of whom support the oxygen standard and the use of ethanol in the program and who disapprove of a California-only solution to the MTBE water contamination crisis. Committee staff have been directed to work with Representative Bilbray and other Committee members to resolve key differences and address this issue again sometime next year.
In the Senate, California Senator Feinstein, together with Oklahoma Senator Inhofe and New Hampshire Senator Smith have introduced legislation that would permit any governor to waive the oxygen content requirement for reformulated gasoline under the guise of preventing further MTBE water contamination. Under current law, however, refiners do not have to blend with MTBE, and may choose other oxygenates such as ethanol to produce the cleaner-burning gasoline. The bill, S. 1886, which is opposed by the ethanol industry, is pending before the Senate Finance Committee.
