FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Scott Manley, (608) 258-3400
MADISON – A proposed amendment sponsored by the Sierra Club to the ethanol mandate legislation would deal a crippling blow to Wisconsin’s manufacturing base. The amendment to Assembly Bill 15 would statutorily require Wisconsin businesses to clean up air pollution created by burning ethanol.
“This would be the first time in state history that the legislature would force businesses to clean up pollution they didn’t create,” said Scott Manley, Environmental Policy Director for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. “The financial costs and job losses associated with this amendment would be devastating to our state’s job providers.”
The Sierra Club reports that it negotiated the amendment with Rep. Stephen Freese (R-Hazel Green), who is the lead Assembly sponsor of the bill to mandate all gasoline sold in Wisconsin contain 10 percent ethanol. Freese’s amendment would require industry to reduce ozone-forming emissions to compensate for the pollution created by burning ethanol in cars and other engines.
“It sends a terrible message to current and prospective employers that Wisconsin will force businesses to clean up pollution they didn’t create. In many respects, the Freese amendment unravels the important reforms enacted in the Job Creation Act,” said Manley.
The Sierra Club had originally opposed the ethanol mandate based upon concerns over additional ozone pollution documented in a September, 2005 report by the Wisconsin DNR. The report stated that an ethanol mandate would increase NOx pollution up to 13 tons per day, substantially worsening our ozone problem in Wisconsin. Wisconsin has 10 counties failing to meet the federal ozone air quality standards.
“We have always maintained that the ethanol bill will hurt our economy, and industry will pay a severe penalty if the legislature passes this bill,” said Manley. “The Freese amendment guarantees our worst fears by sticking industry with the bill for ethanol pollution.”
Earlier this week, WMC released the findings of a report showing which concluded that forcing utilities to clean up ethanol pollution would cause utility rates to skyrocket. The study conducted by BBC Research and Consulting found that the cost associated with an incremental 2 percent reduction in NOx emissions would result in an annual $366 million utility rate hike on residential, commercial and industrial users.
This cost is relevant to the ethanol mandate because a September, 2005 report issued by the DNR indicated that the mandate would increase NOx pollution by about 2 percent. BBC forecasts 4,000 jobs lost due to the mandate.
“We’re going to lose jobs if this bill passes, and the amendment negotiated between Freese and the Sierra Club will guarantee those job loses on a statewide basis,” Manley said. “The legislature cannot allow this bill to cripple our manufacturing base when we already have the fifth-highest taxes in the nation and a liability crisis in our state. How many reasons will we give employers to locate elsewhere?”
