John Shimkus: “The decision rendered by the EPA today on the California waiver request was a major victory for a couple of reasons.…”

“The decision rendered by the EPA today on the California waiver request was a major victory for a couple of reasons. One, it is just a simple great victory for clean air. The Clean Air Act that was enacted into law in 1992 has had a significant impact on cleaning our air throughout this country. The greatest benefit is that 2 percent oxygen requirement that in essence just helps the fuel burn with more intensity and by burning with more intensity it then burns out the impurities. So we have some benefits. We have a reduction in carbon monoxide at the tailpipe. We also have, in essence, a reduction in carbon dioxide because ethanol and the 2 percent quality is replacing petroleum-based fossil fuels, which is decreasing the carbon dioxide. So we are having tremendous benefits.”