GREENER Fuels Act seeks to cap ethanol in nation’s fuel

Udall, Welch bills would reduce mandate

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced companion bills to reform the Renewable Fuel Standard by reducing the harmful environmental effects of the ethanol fuel mandate and advancing biofuels that they say reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The GREENER Fuels Act (Growing Renewable Energy through Existing and New Environmentally Responsible Fuels Act) would phase out the ethanol mandate and immediately reduce the amount of ethanol in fuel by as much as 1 billion gallons by capping the amount of ethanol that can be blended into conventional gasoline at 9.7 percent.

The AMA, the National Wildlife Federation and the Sierra Club support the bill. The AMA objects to increased amounts of ethanol in the nation’s fuel supply, because none of the estimated 22 million motorcycles and ATVs in use in America is certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to operate on fuel containing more than 10 percent ethanol.