Ethanol rule would harm air, DNR says
Study boosts opposition to bill mandating gas additive
By RAQUEL RUTLEDGE
rrutledge@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Sept. 14, 2005
Requiring regular-grade gasoline at pumps throughout Wisconsin to contain 10% ethanol would pollute the air as much as a 350-megawatt coal-fired power plant and likely result in more counties being identified in ozone health advisories, a new study by the state Department of Natural Resources says.
The study comes as lawmakers are scurrying to respond to public outrage at soaring gas prices and could deal a blow to an ethanol bill now circulating in the Capitol. However, supporters, including Gov. Jim Doyle, say the feared environmental impact pales in comparison to the economic boost for Wisconsin and the decrease in dependency on foreign oil.
The bill (AB15), modified from its original version, mandates that all 87 octane gas be blended with 10% ethanol. Midgrade and premium gas would not be affected.
Such a mandate would lead to higher volatile organic compound emissions and oxides of nitrogen emissions - primary precursors for ozone formation, according to the study.
Oxides of nitrogen emissions, known as NOx, would then increase 1% to 2%, or up to 13 tons per day.
"To put the NOx emissions increase from an E10 mandate into perspective, a 13 ton/day increase is twice as much as the decrease we get from the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program in Southeastern Wisconsin; or about as much NOx emissions as emitted by a 350 megawatt coal-fired power plant," the study states. By comparison, the current We Energies coal plant in Port Washington generates about 320 megawatts.
To offset some of the increased pollution levels, the study suggests, the state would have to take other measures to reduce NOx levels. Much of the burden would fall on utility and industrial companies, said Al Shea, administrator of the state DNR's division of air and waste.
"We just tried to be factual and say this is what we think the impacts will be, and they will have to be offset elsewhere," Shea said.
The 25-page report drew the attention of Scott Manley, director of environmental policy at Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, who called the bill "unacceptable."
"We don't need new regulations on businesses, we need to stop the ethanol mandate," Manley said this week in a written statement. "Legislators should read this report and then kill the ethanol mandate before it kills jobs in Wisconsin."
Dire predictions downplayed
Rep. Stephen Freese (R-Dodgeville), co-author of the bill, downplayed the study and said the environment is only one aspect of the bill and that other factors need to be weighed, especially considering the fuel problems that followed Hurricane Katrina.
"It's not nearly as damning a report as others are trying to make it out to be," Freese said.
The added pollutants only cause concern on extremely hot days, which have numbered about 15 this year, he said.
"If this were every single day, this would be hugely consequential, but it simply is not," he said.
Freese said the bill is especially important as the home-heating season approaches and oil refineries reach capacity. The more independent Wisconsinites can be from the mercy of big oil companies, the better off they will be, he said.
"You look at the profits they're making, it's unreal, and as a result the families in Wisconsin are paying substantially more," he said.
Freese and other backers of the bill say ethanol can reduce prices at the pump 3 to 4 cents a gallon. Petroleum marketers dispute that claim, saying that blending and purchasing ethanol adds to their costs, which they pass along to consumers.
The report did not dissuade Doyle from supporting the bill, spokeswoman Melanie Fonder said.
"One of the things he always says is, 'We must become more dependent on the Midwest than the Middle East,' " she said. "While the governor is concerned about the effects on the environment, what we're talking about here is marginal."
Ethanol benefits disputed
Opponents of the bill say ethanol is a sorry solution to the nation's dependency on oil and rising gas costs. Ethanol production contributes to air, water and soil pollution and consumes as much energy as it makes, they say. In addition, it reduces gas mileage in most vehicles by 2% to 3%.
Ethanol, chemically known as CH3CH2OH, is primarily produced from corn in the United States, but the fermented and distilled sugars can also come from sugarcane, wheat, cheese whey, potatoes and other sources.
Wisconsin now has four plants in operation with two more scheduled to begin production next year and several more being planned. The plants use about 20% of Wisconsin's corn crops, which ranked sixth in the nation in production in 2004.
Milwaukee-area motorists have had the clear-colored, alcohol-based fuel make up 10% of their gas since 1995, as mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act. However, the reformulated fuel in the Milwaukee area has other components that, when coupled with ethanol, reduce emissions. The Assembly bill does not require similar changes in the ethanol/gasoline blend.
While other states such as Minnesota, which mandates ethanol in fuel, report successful reductions in carbon monoxide emissions, Wisconsin's air quality concerns center focuses on NOx and VOC rather than carbon monoxide emissions.
To reap the cleaner air benefits, Wisconsin would have to require that the conventional gasoline that would be mixed with ethanol be changed to reduce the level at which it evaporates, a costly proposition for refineries.
Refineries pass along such costs to consumers. Gas typically costs 5 to 8 cents more per gallon in Milwaukee and the five surrounding counties that use reformulated fuel.
No date has been scheduled for the Assembly to consider the bill, but it could be brought to the floor later this month.
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