The newer version of RFG is required in certain urban areas that have trouble meeting federal air quality standards under the Clean Air Act. Republican lawmakers are calling for an immediate repeal of the EPA s clean fuel rule. Hastert argued that suspending the RFG requirement would reduce gas prices in the Midwest by 15 cents a gallon. His argument was supported by a Congressional Research Service report, released Tuesday by House Science Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, that points to the ethanol requirement as a contributing factor in the high fuel prices. Other factors noted in the report include the rising price of crude oil, reduced inventories of crude oil and gasoline, disruptions in two pipelines that serve the Chicago area, and the fact that one company, Unocal Corp., holds a patent on part of the RFG production system.
Ethanol is corrosive, and can damage pipelines.
Most ethanol must therefore be delivered by truck, train or boat, each of which is several times more expensive than pipeline transport. These higher costs are transmitted to gasoline retailers, who in turn pass them on to customers. If some Midwestern states are granted a temporary waiver from the RFG requirement, refineries say they would be reluctant to continue shipping RFG fuel into these areas, as they could not be sure of recouping their costs. Earlier this year, a pipeline breakdown interrupted gas supplies to St. Louis, Missouri. The area s supply of RFG fuel was quickly exhausted.