Fuel group praises LV's ethanol program

Delegates of the Renewable Fuels Association praised the Clark County Health District Tuesday for having what they feel is one of the most progressive alternative-fuel programs in the nation.

More than 300 producers and marketing representatives of ethanol, the nonpetroleum fuel derived from feed stock such as corn, listened as Mike Naylor, director of the Clark County Air Pollution Division, described how oxygenated fuel using ethanol reduced Southern Nevada's air pollution levels.

The organization is meeting through today at the MGM Grand.

Naylor said the Las Vegas Valley only had two days in 1998 that exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency's standards for carbon monoxide levels. There was only one day in 1997, three in 1996 and one in 1995.

In the winters of 1976 and 1977, Naylor said, there were 100 days each year that exceeded the standard. He attributes fewer days to a winter ethanol program, which began in 1989 and was made mandatory throughout the county in September 1997.

Ethanol is added to gasoline during the winter months in Clark County to reduce carbon monoxide levels and smog. The county adds 3.5 percent by weight, which amounts to about a gallon of ethanol per 10 gallons of fuel pumped into a motor vehicle.

The rest of the nation, Naylor said, recommends between 2 and 2.7 percent. No other state mandates ethanol.

"Mike Naylor is the architect of the nation's most effective oxygenated fuel program," Bob Dinneen, legislative director of the association, told the delegates.

But the Western States Petroleum Association doesn't share that view. The organization filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in November 1997, arguing that the mandate excludes other oxygenated additives in winter fuels. The association represents 30 companies in Nevada, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Arizona.

An April 15 hearing is scheduled in Reno.

Western States is touting methyl tertiary butyle ether (MTBE). The additive was used during the winter throughout Clark County from 1988 to 1995, but was discontinued because it is suspected of being involved in contaminating ground water in California.

While all service stations are required to use ethanol fuel during the winter, only about 10 percent, Naylor said, choose to sell it during the summer.

The county has no alternative fuel requirement for summer fuel but is considering implementing one. MTBE proponents are hopeful they will be able to tap into this lucrative market.

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