Two prominent House Republicans asked the Government Accountability Office today to investigate whether the federal government could be held responsible if higher ethanol blends harm engines or vehicle equipment. The request from Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Joe Barton of Texas and Representative Greg Walden of Oregon, the top Republican on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, seeks information that could potentially be used to make an argument against allowing higher ethanol blends. “It is imperative that Congress have some measure of the potential costs of infrastructure and liability risks should higher blends be mandated,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter. At issue is U.S. EPA's consideration of whether to allow the mixing of larger amounts of ethanol with gasoline. GAO last August found that the United States may soon reach an ethanol “blend wall,” in which more ethanol is available than can be used at current blending rates. Biofuels advocate Growth Energy petitioned the agency to raise the blend wall by allowing more ethanol in gasoline, since regulations currently restrict ethanol in gasoline to no more than 10 percent. Facing saturation of their market
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Could Gov’t Be Liable for Harm Caused by Higher Ethanol Blend, Congressmen Ask
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