Put the brakes on mandatory E15

Families across Illinois are gearing up for the last big travel weekend of the summer. When they fuel up at the pump, it would be a good idea to read the fine print.

"Contains 10 percent ethanol" is the current message, referring to the percentage of motor fuel made from corn in a long-standing and controversial national effort to reduce petroleum imports.

Now, however, some lawmakers in Washington are pushing to expand sales of "E15" - gasoline that contains 15 percent ethanol - even though it can severely damage car engines that aren't built to accept it. And Chicago Alderman Edward M. Burke just gave new life to a bill that would require local gas stations to offer E15.

Illinoisans should push back hard. Expanding the use of E15 will hurt car engines, force motorists to spend more money at the pump, and hurt the bottom line of family owned service stations.

The ethanol program is part of the Renewable Fuel Standard Congress created in 2005. The law mandates that refiners add an increasing amount of ethanol and other biofuels to gasoline. At the time, Congress believed U.S. consumption of gasoline would increase in the coming years. Refiners would then produce more gas - and blend in more ethanol.

But gas consumption has fallen drastically, thanks in part to more fuel-efficient cars. Refiners must now add more and more ethanol every year to less and less gasoline. More than 90 percent of the gasoline in the United States already contains 10 percent ethanol. The only way to meet the standard is to increase the percentage of corn in the tank.

Enter E15. Over the last few years, the Environmental Protection Agency has increasingly permitted manufacturers to sell E15 commercially. But E15 threatens to damage the engines it powers. The EPA actually prohibits the use of E15 in motorcycles, lawn mowers and tractors. More than 90 percent of cars on the road today can't handle it.

That's because ethanol is highly corrosive to engine materials and fuel systems. It can clog fuel lines and carburetors. Many manufacturers have warned that their warranties will not cover damage caused by E15 in cars whose engines are not manufactured to accept it. AAA has recommended suspending all sales.

It's not just our cars that aren't equipped for higher levels of ethanol. Neither are existing filling station pumps and tanks. Statewide, Illinois has about 5,400 gas stations. Less than 1 percent currently offer E15. Stations that do sell E15 must have special equipment - like double-walled fuel tanks - to counteract its corrosive properties.

Upgrading existing stations isn't cheap. New equipment can cost a single station as much as $125,000. That's a significant financial burden, especially since the majority of stations are independently owned small businesses. These stations would face a choice - raise prices or close up shop.

Ethanol promoters are proposing millions of dollars in public grants to help stations upgrade. Guess who gets stuck with that bill? Taxpayers, that's who.

Advocates claim misleadingly that E15 is the cheapest gas at the pump. But since ethanol produces a third less energy than gasoline when burned, E15 actually gets 25 percent less gas mileage. That makes it more expensive on a gas-per-mile basis.

What's more, E15 does not qualify for Illinois' 20 percent sales tax exemption. That means E15 will wring more money from consumers for each gallon of fuel.

Unlike E15, Illinois's oil and natural gas sector is playing an important role in job creation and economic growth for our state. More than 263,000 Illinoisans work jobs directly or indirectly supported by oil and gas. These jobs add an annual $33 billion to our state's economy.

Increasing E15 usage would be bad for our economy. With rising prices and damaged engines, road trips will be turning into "staycations."

Bill Fleischli is executive vice president of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association and the Illinois Association of Convenience Stores.