Environmental Update

The US Environmental Protection Agency eliminated a requirement in May that gasoline must include an oxygenate fuel additive like ethanol and ETBE made from ethanol.

The Clean Air Act— as interpreted by the Environmental Protection Agency —required until earlier this year that all fully reformulated gasoline sold in the United States must include a 2% oxygenate additive. The main additive has historically been methyl tertiary butyl ether — called "MTBE" — but refineries had been switching to ethanol and ETBE because of concerns about possible groundwater pollution caused by MTBE.

In late February, the government withdrew the oxygenate requirement altogether in California, but provided an additional 270 days of lead time before dropping it for the rest of the country.