Political Quotes

“Allowing California to be exempt from the requirements of the Clean Air Act by allowing them to opt out of the reformulated gasoline program will not only have detrimental impacts on the State of California, but the rest of the country as well. After extensive analysis, the EPA concluded there is significant uncertainty over the change in emissions that would result in granting a waiver to California from the Federal oxygen content requirement. Specifically, the EPA determined that there is no evidence that a waiver will help California reduce harmful levels of pollutants. Adding 2 percent oxygen reduces the amount of carbon that is released into the air by 10 percent when gasoline is burned. Eliminating the oxygenate requirement would increase carbon monoxide emissions by up to 593 tons per day in California alone, according to the California Air Resources Board. In addition, in order to make gasoline burn cleaner without using oxygenates, refiners would have to add other additives, such as toluene, which increases exhaust emissions of benzene, and benzene is a known human carcinogen. Furthermore, with respect to supply, if California is allowed to waive the oxygenate requirement of the RFG program, the State will need to come up with an additional 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline a year to fill the lost volume.”