Story Published:
Apr 21, 2008 at 3:19 PM CST
Story Updated:
Apr 21, 2008 at 3:19 PM CST
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A House committee will consider whether to repeal Missouri's four-month-old ethanol mandate. A law passed in 2006 requires most Missouri gasoline to be blended with 10 percent ethanol whenever E-10 is cheaper than regular gas. That requirement kicked in Jan. 1.
Critics blame the ethanol requirement for driving up the price of livestock feed, which uses corn that now costs more because ethanol plants bid up the price of corn. Critics also cite that as reason to reject a proposed biodiesel mandate. Biodiesel includes oil from soybeans and animal byproducts.
The House Transportation Committee plans to hold a hearing on House Bill 2536 on Tuesday morning at 8. Rep. Mike Dethrow, R-Alton, introduced the bill on March 31. Its chance of passing this session is likely small since it came up so late in the session and is just now getting a hearing. The session ends May 16.
A study paid for by the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council estimates drivers will save almost 10 cents per gallon of gas in 2008 by using a 10-percent ethanol blend. Gov. Matt Blunt cited the study in a news release on Monday.
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Edited news release:
Gov. Matt Blunt highlighted a study that shows
Missouri
’s 10-percent ethanol standard (E-10) helps
Missouri drivers save nearly 10 cents per gallon when they fill up their vehicles at
Missouri gas stations.
“Gas prices are too high and these rising costs drive home the point that we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” Blunt said. “That is part of why I am a strong supporter of plant-based renewable fuels and am pleased to see that increasing ethanol use in our state is saving Missouri
drivers money at the pump. Our state has great potential in the emerging renewable fuels industry, and if the fields of Missouri’s farm families are to become the oil fields of the 21st Century, we must continue to support policies that allow us to position ourselves at the forefront of this thriving industry, which is good for our farmers, our environment and Missouri
families’ pocketbooks.”
Blunt pointed to a study by John Urbanchuk of LECG that shows
Missouri drivers are benefiting from the increased use of ethanol in gasoline. In 2007,
the use of E-10 saved
Missouri drivers 7.7 cents per gallon at the pump for a total savings of $158.2 million, or $40 for each licensed driver in the state. This year the use of ethanol is estimated to save Missouri
drivers 9.8 cents per gallon or $72.80 per driver, which will add up to more than $285 million in savings for 2008.
Missouri is the third state to implement an E-10 standard. Blunt signed legislation requiring gasoline sold in Missouri to contain 10-percent ethanol. Over the past several months, gasoline distributors have been working, with assistance from the Missouri Department of Agriculture, to complete the transition from petroleum based gasoline to an E-10 blend.
Ethanol is a cleaner burning alternative to petroleum based gasoline and is more efficient to produce. It contains more oxygen, which results in better combustion and fewer carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and carcinogenic emissions.
Over the last three years, Blunt's administration has worked to pay back the incentive payments that were promised to the
Missouri
farm families that invested in ethanol cooperatives, but were not made before he took office. He also signed an executive order and supporting legislation requiring that at least 70 percent of new vehicles purchased by the Office of Administration’s
state fleet are flex fuel vehicles. The state fleet currently has 36
hybrid electric and 1,717 E85 vehicles.
For more information regarding the Missouri Renewable Fuel Standard or questions regarding E-10 gasoline, contact the Missouri Department of Agriculture at (573) 751-2922 or www.mda.mo.gov.
