Thus, the idea for the EPA to mandate the use of ethanol in RFG carries with it a great deal of difficulties, leading many to wonder why the EPA and many politicians continue to protect ethanol. Part of the reason may be purely political. An examination of the 1998 election cycle reveals just how important ethanol interests are in Washington. Yet, ethanol clearly has returned little in the way of environmental benefits or reduced reliance on foreign oil.16 Conclusion Beyond ethanol and MTBE, things look no better for other oxygenates. The oxygenates ETBE and TAME are considered too similar to MTBE, and TBA is too difficult to produce in large quantities and is carcinogenic.17 There are other, more general problems with the EPA's RFG program.
Cost is evident - it is one of the key reasons that today's gas prices are soaring so dramatically.
The Congressional Research Service estimates that the environmental regulations imposed by the RFG program have driven the price of gasoline up 25 cents a gallon in the Midwest. Either way, consumers will suffer. The EPA has gone far beyond its proper boundaries in the mandates it has imposed through the RFG program. Even if the RFG program was viable, the EPA should only mandate the environmental goals that it wants gasoline to meet. It should not mandate the specific methods and tools that refiners must use in order to meet these goals.