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91_HJ0069
LRB9113852ACtm
1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The federal Clean Air Act required a new type of
3 motor fuel to be sold in the Nation's ozone non-attainment
4 areas beginning January 1, 2000; this new fuel is known as
5 Phase II Reformulated Gasoline or RFG; and
6 WHEREAS, Illinois has 2 ozone non-attainment areas: the
7 8-county Chicago Metropolitan area which will have to sell
8 Phase II RFG exclusively and the 3-county Metro-east area;
9 and
10 WHEREAS, Most of the fuel presently sold in the Chicago
11 Metropolitan area, through a partnership between corn
12 growers, ethanol processors, and gasoline refiners and
13 marketers, contains 10% ethanol; and
14 WHEREAS, The Chicago RFG market accounts for 400 million
15 gallons of ethanol demand, making it the foundation of the
16 domestic ethanol industry today; and
17 WHEREAS, The General Assembly is troubled to hear that
18 the United States Environmental Protection Agency is
19 considering removing oxygenate requirements from the
20 regulations for Phase II RFG, which could severely limit or
21 prohibit the blending of ethanol in gasoline by refiners,
22 especially in the summer months, thereby endangering the
23 Illinois ethanol industry's core market; and
24 WHEREAS, To date, the Chicago Area and Illinois have made
25 extraordinary progress in meeting the demands of the Clean
26 Air Act, leading to greatly improved air quality, much of
27 which is attributed to the use of RFG fuels containing
28 ethanol; and
29 WHEREAS, A decision by the USEPA to remove oxygenate
30 requirements from Phase II RFG regulations could constitute a
31 real threat to the economic viability of Illinois' ethanol
-2- LRB9113852ACtm
1 industry and Illinois' gasoline refining industry; and
2 WHEREAS, Illinois' ethanol industry supports over 50,000
3 jobs in the corn farming and ethanol processing sectors, with
4 major facilities in Peoria, Decatur, and elsewhere in the
5 State; and
6 WHEREAS, Illinois' gasoline refining and marketing
7 industry employs over 40,000 Illinois workers, including 6
8 major refineries producing over one million barrels a day of
9 gasoline and other products in the Chicago area, St. Louis
10 area, and Southeastern Illinois locations; therefore, be it
11 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
12 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
13 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the USEPA to keep the
14 oxygenate requirements in the regulations for Phase II
15 Reformulated Gasoline; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
17 delivered to the Director of the Illinois Environmental
18 Protection Agency, the Administrator of the United States
19 Environmental Protection Agency, the President of the United
20 States, and each member of the Illinois congressional
21 delegation.