Governor Hoeven Upset That The Federal Government Isn’t Mandating More Ethanol Usage
A couple of days ago I posted about Congress struggling to figure out what they were going to do with all the ethanol they’d subsidized/mandated into existence. One of their “solutions” was for the EPA to mandate increased use of ethanol blends in fuels. Meaning their solution for creating a glut of a biofuel nobody really wants to buy is to force people to buy it.
And North Dakota Governor John Hoeven would like the arm-twisting to commence a little faster.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven says he’s disappointed the federal Environmental Protection Agency is delaying a decision on raising the ethanol content of fuel.
The agency says more testing is needed on the impact of raising the maximum ethanol content of gasoline from 10 percent to 15 percent. The testing is to see how the change affects engine performance. The EPA says it isn’t likely to make a decision before June.
Hoeven says the EPA has been studying the move for more than a year. He says raising the allowable ethanol content of gasoline will increase demand for alternative fuels and help North Dakota producers.
Here’s a thought: Maybe North Dakota producers should quit making a fuel that is only “in demand” in so far as the government creates demand for it.
Personally, I think production should be determined by demand. And not government-manufactured demand but actual “Hey, I want some of that” demand from actual citizens.
