Corn Growers Want California Ethanol Door Opened

January 21, 2002

The National Corn Growers Association says indecision by California Gov. Gray Davis has prompted NCGA President Tim Hume to write Davis a letter urging him to keep his commitment to eliminate MTBE from California gasoline by Jan. 1, 2003. "When you originally made that commitment, you and members of your administration expressed the desire to eliminate MTBE at the earliest date possible because of the negative impact using MTBE was having on water quality in California," said Hume. "Today, MTBE is still being used in the overwhelming majority of California gasoline and drinking water supplies in California continue to be contaminated; this has not changed. What has changed is the clear and undeniable existence of a real alternative to MTBE, ethanol." Hume noted that, following Davis' pledge to eliminate MTBE, many in California questioned the ability of the ethanol industry to meet the needs of California refiners with adequate supplies of ethanol. Because of these doubts, he said, California filed for a waiver from the federal reformulated gasoline oxygen requirement. EPA has denied that waiver request.

"However, while California invested significant resources in your waiver request, corn farmers invested their resources in new ethanol production by becoming members of ethanol cooperatives," Hume continued. "In fact, most of the new capacity being built to meet the new demand anticipated from new market opportunities like California are farmer-owned cooperatives."

Hume cited a recent report by the Renewable Fuels Association that said 10 new ethanol plants have opened in the United States, producing an additional 550 million gallons ethanol annually, and 18 more plants that will add another 470 million gallons of capacity are under construction. "This unprecedented investment by farmers is in direct response to the challenge made by you and members of your administration when you suggested that ethanol was not a viable alternative to MTBE because enough was not being produced," Hume added. "The investments of many of our members will be affected by your decision."