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91_HR0645
LRB9113478ACtm
1 HOUSE 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; and
5 WHEREAS, This new fuel is known as Phase II Reformulated
6 Gasoline or RFG; and
7 WHEREAS, Illinois has 2 ozone non-attainment areas: the
8 8-county Chicago Metropolitan area which will have to sell
9 Phase II RFG exclusively and the 3-county Metro-east area;
10 and
11 WHEREAS, Most of the present Phase I RFG fuel sold in the
12 Chicago Metropolitan area, through a partnership between corn
13 growers, ethanol processors, and gasoline refiners and
14 marketers, contains 10% ethanol; and
15 WHEREAS, The Chicago RFG market accounts for 400 million
16 gallons of ethanol demand, making it the foundation of the
17 domestic ethanol industry today; and
18 WHEREAS, The General Assembly is greatly concerned that
19 present United States Environmental Protection Agency
20 regulations for Phase II RFG could severely limit or prohibit
21 the blending of ethanol in gasoline by refiners, especially
22 in the summer months, thereby endangering the Illinois
23 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 existing RFG fuels; and
28 WHEREAS, The USEPA's proposed Phase II RFG regulations
29 that began January 1, 2000, constitute a real threat to the
30 economic viability of Illinois' ethanol industry and
-2- LRB9113478ACtm
1 Illinois' gasoline refining industry; and
2 WHEREAS, Illinois' ethanol industry supports over 50,000
3 jobs in the corn farming and ethanol processing sector, 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, that
13 we encourage and support resolving the technical challenges
14 of using ethanol in Phase II RFG; and be it further
15 RESOLVED, that we request that the U.S. Environmental
16 Protection Agency permit the continued use of ethanol under
17 phase II of the RFG Program in a way that will not
18 economically disadvantage Illinois' ethanol and gasoline
19 refining industries; and be it further
20 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly will support
21 year-round use of ethanol in the Chicago market under the
22 Phase II Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) rules that are a part of
23 the Clean Air Act; and be it further
24 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
25 delivered to the Administrator of the United States
26 Environmental Protection Agency, the President of the United
27 States, and each member of the Illinois congressional
28 delegation.