The White House is planning to scrap one of the U.S. government's programs regarding the widespread use of alternative fuel, according to LA Times.
Due to pressure from automotive and oil industries, President Barrack Obama's administration is currently deciding if it will support the rollback regarding the alternative fuels mandate.
Under this directive, certain levels of alternative fuel such as ethanol will be mixed into the gasoline supply in an effort to decrease carbon emissions and promote the use of biofuels. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the agency tasked to monitor the level of biofuels in the gasoline supply.
Some members of the automotive industry told the Obama administration that the use of ethanol on standard vehicles can have damaging effects on their engines.
On Nov. 21, the EPA stated that it will delay its announcement regarding the rollback of the alternative fuels mandate, NY Times has learned. If it decides to proceed with the rollback, this will pose a big problem for biofuel manufacturers who are hoping to increase the level of ethanol for national use.
However, due to the delay in EPA's announcement, gasoline companies have stopped purchasing biofues from private firms. This effect practically rendered manufacturing facilities useless as they now have an oversupply of the alternative fuel, Trib Live reported.
"We have the ability to produce this great product, but now we can't sell it," Eric McAfee, owner of a California-based ethanol plant said.
"Our ability to increase production of this cleaner, domestic, renewable fuel is eliminated," he added. "It disappears when we can no longer sell the product."
Politicians also voiced their concerns regarding the potential problems if the Obama administration decides to side with the EPA and proceed with the rollback, according to SF Gate.
Through a letter to the White House, California Senator Barbara Boxer warned the president that a rollback of the mandate will hurt the country's efforts to reverse the effects of climate change.
