Stickers to Stay on Iowa's Ethanol Pumps

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A proposal to give the state's gas retailers the choice to remove labels that identify fuel blended with ethanol triggered complaints that lawmakers wanted to deceive gas buyers, and eventually died in legislation earlier this week, the Des Moines Register reported.

The legislation was proposed by Iowa Senate president, Sen. Jack Kibbie, a grain farmer, according to the report. Kibbie stated the contents of the gas mattered less than the price, and that removing the labels from E10 might prompt motorists to choose the cheaper ethanol-blended gas, the report stated.

"I think it got blown way out of proportion," he told the paper. The legislation was attached to another bill, but was removed before the bill went to vote, according to the report. "For most Iowans ... they want to know what's in their gas, so we just backed away from that. It was no harm done," he added.

"I wasn't trying to pull the wool over anybody's eyes," Kibbie told the paper.

Last week, CSNews Online reported the Kum & Go chain of convenience stores and the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of Iowa (PMCSI) organization voiced opposition to the legislation.

"We believe our customers want to know this information," Tara Deering-Hansen, a spokeswoman for Kum & Go, told the Des Moines Register last week.
X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds