EMERSON URGES BUSH TO EXPAND ETHENOL MARKET

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson said Wednesday his patience with the Environmental Protection Agency has run thin and he has urged President George Bush to bolster ethanol's role in the federal Clean Air Act.

Emerson released a copy of a letter he sent to Bush regarding ethanol's role in the implementation of the Clean Air Act.

The Cape Girardeau Republican said it has been five months since he and other members of the Missouri congressional delegation urged the White House to take action to open new doors for domestic ethanol and corn producers.

"These federal regulatory handicaps create a negative economic rippling effect," Emerson said. "The congressional intent of the Clean Air Act wasn't supposed to omit ethanol from our pollution attainment goals, but a narrow-minded interpretation by the EPA has.

"I am merely reminding the president that he has the executive power to modify these EPA regulations, and I urge him to do so immediately."

In the letter, Emerson explained how ethanol-blended gasolines can be included in the Clean Air Act's oxygenated fuels program and the reformulated gasoline program of the federal government's overall plan to reduce air pollution.

Emerson, the senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, also explained in the letter the negative impact the administration's inaction has had on corn producers and new businesses.

"Missouri's rural towns and communities are in great need of the immediate economic boost that a promising ethanol industry can provide," he said. "So now, rural America and the American farmer are looking to you for leadership in rectifying the present inaction and to do so before any further market and profit-generating opportunities slip from the grasp of the American corn farmer."