Groups urge US govt against higher ethanol blends

By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - A coalition of environmental, agricultural, business and consumer groups on Thursday urged the Obama administration not to raise the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline until testing is finished to determine if higher ethanol blends would cause harm.

Ethanol is required to be blended in to up to 10 percent of a gallon of gasoline, but some ethanol producers have called on the Congress or the Environmental Protection Agency to boost the blend to 15 percent even before independent and comprehensive research on higher blends are complete.

"We collectively, and strongly, oppose such an ill-considered approach as contrary to scientific integrity and potentially harmful to our environment, public health and consumers," the coalition said in a joint letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and White House energy and climate change czar Carol Browner.

The letter was signed by some four dozen groups, including the Sierra Club, American Lung Association, American Meat Institute and the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association.

Foodmaker, livestock and environmental groups are against a higher ethanol blend. Ethanol is mostly made from corn, which is also used in livestock feed and consumer food products.

To support their position, the coalition pointed out President Barack Obama's comments made earlier this month that his administration would rely on the best science when making policy decisions.

"Science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my administration on a wide range of issues, including improvement of public health, protection of the environment, increased efficiency in the use of energy and other resources, mitigation of the threat of climate change, and protection of national security," Obama said at the time. (Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by Marguerita Choy)