United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2002-02-27 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:GAO-02-440R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-440R P0b002ee180388963 f:d02440r DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-440R machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-440R GAO-02-440R Alternative energy sources Energy consumption Energy industry Fuel prices Pollution control Correspondence A02837 The 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that an additive (oxygenate) be added to the gasoline used in areas with excessive carbon monoxide or ozone pollution. The CAA specifically requires those areas with "severe" ozone pollution to use reformulated gasoline, which contains at least two percent oxygen by weight. In California, as in other areas of the country, oil refining companies predominantly use the oxygenate methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to meet the CAA requirement. Because MTBE has been detected in ground water, the governor of California issued an executive order in March 1999 to ban MTBE in the state's gasoline by the end of 2002. If California decides to use ethanol to replace MTBE, ethanol production capacity from 2003 through 2005 could likely satisfy U.S. consumption. However, if other states also banned MRBE and moved to ethanol, consumption could increase and affect the industry's ability to meet demand. Moreover, production capacity projections may be overstated because they include not only existing plants and plants under construction, but also new plants being planned, which may not materialize. Although prices have been relatively stable to this point, ethanol price spikes could occur in California if supplies were disrupted by either production or distribution problems. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-440R/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-440R.htm GAO-02-440R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-440R Correspondence GAO-02-440R; U.S. Ethanol Market: MTBE Ban in California; Alternative energy sources Energy consumption Energy industry Fuel prices Pollution control