HONOLULU -- Representatives from the oil industry are asking state officials to further delay rules for blending ethanol with gasoline sold in Hawaii.
Ethanol is a form of alcohol made from sugarcane wastes. When blended with gasoline, ethanol produces a cleaner-burning fuel.
"If we have 10 percent ethanol in our fuel, we have 10 percent of a very clean renewable fuel that we are producing here in Hawaii. It's creating jobs in Hawaii. It's preserving jobs in Hawaii, in our sugar sector," said William Maloney of Maui Ethanol LLC.
State lawmakers passed mandates for such blending into law 10 years ago, but no rules for the process were ever proposed. State officials held a public meeting Thursday on proposed rules that would become law a year and a half after being signed by the governor.
Officials say it's too early to say when that might be, noting that the information taken from Thursday's hearing must reviewed before deciding whether the proposed rules need to be revised. Any substantial revisions would require another public hearing.
Oil companies say 18 months wouldn't be enough time for them to upgrade facilities or secure necessary property or permits that would be needed to start blending gasoline.
"Tesoro supports ethanol if it's Hawaii ethanol from Hawaii sugar. We're very concerned, looking at the rules that there's nothing in them the even encourages Hawaii ethanol," Tesoro Hawaii spokesman David Leonard said.
Advocates say the proposed rules, which were crafted more than two years ago, are fair to all sides and are needed to diversify the state's energy industry and reduce Hawaii's reliance on fossil fuels.
Copyright 2005 by TheHawaiiChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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