Attorney General rules against ethanol mandate

“Ethanol-Only” won’t be the rule at Iowa gas stations anytime soon. Iowa’s Attorney General says the state’s top ag official does NOT have theauthority to issue a statewide “ethanol-only” mandate for gas stations. A group of Iowans, including Senator Charles Grassley, petitioned Secretaryof Agriculture Patty Judge to consider whether she could mandate ethanol usein the state. Judge says she hopes the legislature will move to improve thesale of ethanol.In his opinion, Attorney General Tom Miller says the Secretary ofAgriculture has the authority to “regulate” but not “prescribe” the contentof gasoline.Last spring, Legislators balked at the idea of a statewide ethanol mandate. Senator Grassley, calls the decision on ethanol use disappointing. Grassley,a republican who is also a farmer, says mandating ethanol would be one ofthe few good things required in gasoline.Grassley says he won’t give up on trying to find a way to increase the useof corn-based ethanol in Iowa.