EPA postpones decision on ethanol requirements
WASHINGTON (AP) - July 22, 2008 EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said the agency needed more
time to review more than 15,000 public comments and consult with
other departments.
A decision was due Thursday on a request from Texas Gov. Rick
Perry to halve the ethanol requirement this year.
An energy bill passed in December required 9 billion gallons of
ethanol to be blended into gasoline this year. Perry, a Republican,
asked the EPA in April to drop the requirement to 4.5 billion
gallons because the demand for ethanol is raising corn prices for
livestock producers.
More than four dozen House Republicans and two dozen GOP
senators, including presidential candidate John McCain, had written
to EPA in support of the waiver. The state of Connecticut also
supported Texas' request.
The agency said it hopes to have a decision in early August.
