December 2004 eNews Bulletin

Panel Backs Proposal to Require 10% Ethanol in Gas Sold in Idaho

A legislative panel studying public transportation and air quality issues is supportive of the Idaho Farm Bureau’s plan to require 10% ethanol in all gasoline sold in the state. But the panel stopped short of embracing any near-term solutions to the transportation and air quality issues facing the Boise valley, where legislators acknowledged some steps need to be taken to get ahead of a crisis.

Instead, the panel voted to support the formation of a regional council that would investigate and attempt to reach consensus on airshed problems that cross county lines, such as Ada and Canyon counties. The proposals will be drafted for the legislative session that starts Jan. 10.

The debate over air quality is quickly turning into one of the more challenging ones lawmakers will face in 2005. The Farm Bureau, a powerful agriculture lobbying force at the Statehouse, is expected to face fierce opposition to its ethanol proposal.

The organization touts its 10% ethanol plan as one that would generate cleaner air while benefiting rural Idaho, which would use its crops and farm waste in the generation of fuel. But experts offer conflicting information on the air quality benefits of using 10% ethanol in gasoline.

While most reports agree ethanol-laced fuel will reduce carbon monoxide emissions, reports differ on the effectiveness of ethanol on particulates that make up ground-level ozone and smog, which is of greatest concern in the Treasure Valley.

The National Academy of Sciences said in a 1999 study that ethanol and other gasoline oxygen additives did little to affect ozone and that the blended fuel can “increase the overall potential of emissions to form smog.” That’s a concern to Boise City Councilman Alan Shealy, who serves on a local air quality board. “This is an issue that people want to support, but from an air quality standard, we have to be careful of it.”

“You really have to examine all sides of the issue to decide what you’re getting out of it,” Shealy said. “I’d love to be able to say, ‘Yeah, go out and buy ethanol.’ But I can tell you for sure ethanol-based fuels are not a panacea. There’s no question in my mind.”

Ethanol trade groups disagree, maintaining that the fuel still burns considerably cleaner than conventional gasoline and critics tend to discount the fuel’s benefits.

Ethanol’s critics and supporters also disagree on the fuel efficiency of cars that drive on it. While some say fuel efficiency drops up to 3%, others say that’s negligible, and in fact that cars burn the fuel better than non-blended gasoline.

Stinker Stations President Charley D. Jones swears by it. His gas stations have been selling the gasoline for more than 20 years. The higher octane, clean burning gasoline helps agriculture and reduces dependence on foreign oil, he said.

And, “Ethanol use, however it comes about, would improve Idaho air quality,” Jones told The Statesman. Jones said although he doesn’t like government mandates, he would support one calling for ethanol in all Idaho fuel sales.

Legislators see it as a winning plan for rural Idaho, which could use new ways to sell its crops, and urban Idaho, as it struggles with air quality. “Our objective would be to produce fuel inside this state using in-state products,” Boise GOP Sen. John Andreason said.

“The nice thing about ethanol is that it can be produced from just about anything that is grown.” But Coeur d’Alene Sen. John Goedde questioned the availability of ethanol to all regions of the state, especially the Panhandle, which depends on gasoline supplies from Spokane. He voted against the ethanol proposal.

The Farm Bureau’s bill would have Idaho adopt a 10% ethanol standard by 2010.