Davis Pursues EPA Waiver on Ethanol

Gov. Gray Davis again urged the Environmental Protection Agency to end a federal mandate that gasoline sold in California include ethanol, a fuel additive that air quality officials say does not help the state reduce air pollution.

Davis has requested an EPA waiver for the state's fuel, which he said could meet federal air emission standards without using oxygen-boosting additives such as ethanol and MTBE.

MTBE, or methyl tertiary butyl ether, will be banned from California gasoline Jan. 1 because of environmental concerns.

Davis' move comes three weeks after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with California, ruling that the EPA "abused its discretion" when it refused to consider the state's waiver request.

Elizabeth Douglass