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World Biofuels
Symposium
November 13-15, 2005
Beijing, China
2nd Annual Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit
December 13-15, 2005
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Hosted by:
Candadian Renewable Fuels
Association
National Biodiesel
Conference & Expo 2006
February 5-8, 2006
San Diego, California
Organizer:
National Biodiesel Board
11th Annual
National Ethanol Conference: "Policy & Marketing"
February 20-22, 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Sponsored by:
Renewable Fuels Association
22nd
Annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo
June 20-23, 2006
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted on
October 19, 2000US bill to boost ethanol, ban MTBE appears dead
With just a few days left in Congress, a bill to ban the controversial fuel additive MTBE and potentially triple demand for ethanol appears to be dead, industry and congressional sources said on Wednesday.
The legislation, which cleared the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in early September, probably has "a less than even chance" of becoming law this year, a spokeswoman for that panel told Reuters.
The measure would ban MTBE, which has been found in groundwater supplies across the country, within four years.
It would also require an increasing percentage of the U.S. fuel supply to come from alternative fuels. That could triple the demand for ethanol, which is made primarily from corn in the United States.
Bruce Knight, vice president of the National Corn Growers Association, said his group still hoped the bill, which the Clinton administration supports, could be wrapped into other legislation that Congress needs to approve.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, South Dakota Democrat, has promised to look for an opportunity to do that, Knight said.
MTBE PRODUCERS HOPEFUL BILL IS DEAD
But with the dwindling number of legislative vehicles and the desire of lawmakers to finish up their work as quickly as they can, the issue will probably be carried over until next year when a new Congress meets, others said.
"It just boils down to the fact that opportunities that would have been ripe for attaching the... bill have kind of come and gone," said David Liddle, a spokesman for Oxygenated Fuels Association, which represents MTBE producers.
"We're hopefully optimistic" the bill is dead, he said.
Last year, a blue ribbon panel appointed by the Environmental Protection Agency called for a substantial cut in the use of MTBE after it was found in groundwater supplies.
Liddle said MTBE, which has helped reduce air pollution as part of the reformulated gasoline program, was given a bad rap. The real culprit was leaky underground storage tanks that allowed gasoline to seep into groundwater supplies, he said.
"I think as things cool down and the smoke clears, we're in a much better position" to fight off a complete ban," Liddle said. "If MTBE was as bad as everyone says, it (a ban) would have been done summarily."
Monte Shaw, a spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association, which represents ethanol producers, said the group is prepared to take up the fight again next year.
"I don't think anyone's going to be shocked if it doesn't happen this year," he said.
With current high oil prices, it makes sense for the United States to boost production of renewal fuels, Shaw said.
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