http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/08/08072001/reu_epa_44576.asp - 8/7/2001 - ENN.com EPA chief considers limits on US gas blends
Tuesday, August 07, 2001 By Reuters WASHINGTON - U.S Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman said in an interview published Monday that she was considering cutting the number of pollution-fighting gasoline blends which the industry partially blames for seasonal price spikes. Whitman said in a USA Today interview that the EPA was considering limiting states to three or four so-called "boutique fuels" instead of about a dozen formulas currently available. Whitman also told the newspaper that she was not considering a requirement that all states use only one formula. "It is very much a states' rights issue," Whitman was quoted as saying. "Boutique fuels are a result of states making independent decisions about (meeting) their clean-air requirement. ... That's not to say we wouldn't eventually cut the number of fuels." The 1970 Clean Air Act requires drivers in polluted urban areas to use fuels with special additives like MTBE or ethanol that burn cleaner and reduce smog. The regulations have caused a balkanization of the U.S. gasoline market, and require refiners to tailor gasoline for cities with specialized fuel regulations. Some oil industry experts blame boutique fuel requirements for spikes in high pump prices as refiners switch to producing them each summer and fall. Refiners have also said the number of blends required by the EPA reduces storage capacity and leads to shortages. Whitman told USA Today the problem could be fixed by easing rules on keeping different blends of gas in the same storage tank. Copyright 2001, Reuters ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Small business owners... Tell us what you think! http://us.click.yahoo.com/vO1FAB/txzCAA/ySSFAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
