January 16, 2001

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) sent out a last-minute alert Monday, asking corn growers to call their Washington representatives and senators "immediately" to urge the Clinton administration to deny a waiver that would grant California an exemption from the federal reformulated gasoline oxygen (RFG) requirement. NCGA says the waiver still threatens ethanol even in the waning days of the Clinton Administration.

A waiver is expected to be granted by the Clinton Administration today. "Because granting the waiver effectively and unjustifiably labels ethanol as a pollutant corn growers need to act immediately to keep the president from making a decision that will irreparably harm the U.S. ethanol industry," says Lee Klein, NCGA president and a farmer from Battle Creek, NE. "NCGA is asking all corn growers to call their U.S. senators and U.S. representative and urge the legislators to tell President Clinton to deny California's waiver request."

A draft EPA proposal would allow California to temporarily reduce the required oxygen level in its gasoline from 2% to 1%. California says it is requesting the waiver so that it can remove the oxygenate MTBE from its gasoline supplies, which has been found in drinking water supplies around the country. But because of the highly complex language of the Clean Air Act, a waiver to reduce or eliminate the oxygen content of gasoline must necessarily find that the use of oxygenates "prevents or interferes with the attainment" of air pollution standards. In this case, granting the waiver effectively and unjustifiably labels ethanol as a pollutant.

"If California's request is granted, other states will make similar requests," Klein notes. The NCGA has been working doubly hard in recent weeks to defeat the waiver request, sending letters to President Clinton and meeting with White House staff to explain the importance of ethanol.

Late last week NCGA worked with the Renewable Fuels Association on a letter to Senate staff detailing NCGA's opposition to the waiver request. Additionally, last week Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) hand delivered a letter to Clinton urging him not to grant the waiver. Efforts were made from Missouri and South Dakota to solicit the help of Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-MO) and Sen. Tom Daschle, (D-S.D.), the House and Senate Democratic leaders respectively.