Petition to waive ethanol mandate may come next week

Chicago Tribune
Timothy Gardner, Reuters
5:01 p.m. CDT, July 27, 2012

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least one of four states hoping to ease requirements on adding grain-based ethanol to gasoline is expected to petition the federal government as soon as Monday as the worst drought in 50 years spikes corn prices and lowers profits for livestock producers.

Governors from states that may petition the Environmental Protection Agency to waive the mandate known as the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, include Republicans Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Dave Heineman of Nebraska, Rick Perry of Texas and Democrat Mike Beebe of Arkansas, an ethanol industry source said.

The RFS was signed into law by former President George W. Bush to help cut dependency on foreign oil by requiring that increasing amounts of ethanol be blended into gasoline each year. President Barack Obama has also embraced ethanol as part of his "all of the above" energy strategy.

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