Driving On Alcohol

By CAROLYN SZCZEPANSKI

By now, all two-day New Year’s Eve hangovers are over. But now that the ball has dropped on 2008, everyone in Missouri will be driving with a little bit of alcohol — in their gas tanks.

Ethanol is being hyped as the golden solution to America’s gasoline addiction. The corn-based fuel burns cleaner than gasoline and supports local farmers, according to its pushers. In 2006, the Missouri legislature passed a law requiring gasoline marketers to blend all gasoline with 10 percent ethanol starting in 2008; when the rule went into effect January 1, Missouri joined Hawaii and Minnesota in mandating the corn-fuel blend.

“Missourians can be proud of the fact that we are one of the first three states in the nation to implement a 10 percent ethanol requirement,” Mike Geske, president of the Missouri Corn Growers Association, said in a statement.

But Kansas Citians have reason to worry that E10 requirement might add to air pollution in the metro.

The problem with ethanol is that it’s more volatile than gasoline; it evaporates more easily. So when drivers fuel up with E10 instead of standard petroleum blends, more gas fumes get into the air. During the summer season that could mean more ozone alert days, which Kansas City can hardly afford.

James Joerke, the air quality program manager for the Mid-America Regional Council, says the Kansas City area is already required by the federal government to use a gasoline blend that emits fewer fumes at the pump because of ozone trouble dating back to the 1990s. Last summer, Kansas City got in deeper trouble with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency when it violated ozone standards for the third consecutive season, requiring area officials to come up with a specific plan to reduce local air pollution.

When the legislature first discussed the E-10 mandate several years ago, Joerke says MARC made sure Governor Matt Blunt’s office knew that it could pose problems for air quality in Kansas City. The governor’s office now is considering a proposal to exempt the metro.

“We have received a request for a waiver and it’s under consideration,” Blunt spokesperson Jessica Robinson tells The Pitch. “We’re working with appropriate agencies, including the Department of Natural Resources, to finalize a decision long before weather becomes a factor and in time to also avoid any potential negative implications.”

The time to worry, Joerke says, starts in June and carries through September. The state could get refiners to create a gas blend that keeps the ethanol and decreases the amount of fumes. But, he says, that could be more expensive. Moreover, Joerke says, the feds are likely to tighten their definition of how much ozone constitutes a violation. “We’re already in violation of the current standard and now we’re facing the prospect of having to meet a standard that’s even tougher, so that whole situation makes it especially important that we not move backward,” he says.

The hot weather might seem like a long time away, but the time to start working on a solution is now.