EPA Won't Give a Pass on Fuel Additive

Johnson said the states had not shown that using an oxygenate -- a substance that adds oxygen to the gasoline -- would interfere with their ability to meet federal air standards. As a result, the waiver request was denied.

The decision was criticized by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and officials from New York and Connecticut -- the other states that had requested waivers.

The move was praised by corn growers and manufacturers of ethanol, an oxygenate made from corn.

"With this decision, the EPA continues to acknowledge the proven benefits ethanol has on air quality," Leon Corzine, the president of the National Corn Growers Assn., said in a statement.

The substances most commonly used as oxygenates are ethanol and MTBE, or methyl tertiary butyl ether. California banned MTBE in March 1999 because of concerns over groundwater contamination from leaks in storage tanks.

In April 1999, then-Gov. Gray Davis requested a waiver from the oxygenate mandate. In 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency denied California's application, saying the state did not demonstrate what the effect on the ozone level would be if the waiver were granted.

As a result, California is compelled to blend ethanol with gasoline, raising the cost and, critics say, increasing air pollution in the summer. The state has the most stringent gasoline standards in the nation and has reduced emissions without requiring such additives.

"The California Air Resources Board researched this issue at length and found that ethanol-blended gasoline does not help California meet the goals of the Clean Air Act as it relates to ozone formation," Feinstein said in a statement. "In fact, ethanol actually increases the emission of pollutants that cause ozone in the summer months."

Feinstein said in her statement that she had spoken with the EPA's Johnson about the decision and that she was "reviewing options."

An aide to Schwarzenegger said the governor was unhappy with the decision.

"California has demonstrated it can produce clean fuel that protects air quality without the use of oxygenates," said Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Julie Soderlund in Sacramento. "The governor has called upon Congress to address this issue through the federal energy bill."