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Bertram31.com General Bulletin Board
California exempt from ethanol? *LINK*
Posted By: Peter
Date: Wednesday, 12 April 2006, at 10:11 a.m.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I came accross this while researching for exemptions to the ethanol oxygenated fuels for seasonal vehicles like boats and snowmobiles.
As far as I can tell California (along with New Hampshire) has successfully turned the tide.....but for surprising reasons.
From what I can tell Gov. Davis began a move to ban MBTE from fuel in CA in 1999, which necessitated an exemption from regulations requiring oxygenates be added to gas in CA gasoline. So now, in 2006, Uncle Sam has agreed. But the net result is ETHANOL is no longer required in CA gas.
How ironic! the state that started the anti-pollution push to put oxygenates, and ultimately ethanol, in our fuel is now exempt from selling fuel with ethanol, or any other oxygenates at all.
And it looks like the rest of the country will benefit from their actions by this fall.The question is why is the EPA doing a very quiet about face on this? Could the answer be that they have discovered that ethanol isn't the magic potion they thought it once was? Are they quietly backing away, so that when people in the general population start to have real problems with the stuff they can say "Not Me"? Or maybe some one over there looked at the entire pollution equation and found the making and selling ethanol fuel creates more pollution than it cures.
It is interesting that they say that they felt that the decision would be non-controversial so they just went ahead with it. No news releases, no debate, nadda, nothing, just quietly publish their decision.Note, however, that the EPA expects that the easiest way to meet current emission requirements is to keep the ethanol in the gas, but that the EPA doesn't REQUIER that the oil companies use ethanol to meet those standards. They can use what ever they choose, including MBTE in most states.
So when people start to have problems with old boats, cars, and what-have-you the EPA can blame it on the oil companies. They can claim that after all is said and done that they didn't MAKE the oil companies put the ethanol in the gas, only that the oil companies decided to do so because it was the easiest and cheapest solution.Or maybe I'm not understanding what I am reading...I'm not a lawer, and I don't even play one on TV. This isn't 100% clear, but it seems 90% clear to me.
useful acronyms:
RFG = re-formulated gasoline (gas that meets present EPA standards for low emisions)
VOC = volatile organic compounds
RVP = Reid vapor pressure
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-AIR/2006/February/Day-22/a1614.htm
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