>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Peter Brandt of Alpine Auto in Joseph - Photo/Gary Fletcher

Yes, he’s heard plenty of anxiety over the Legislature’s decision last year to require ethanol be blended in gasoline.

And yes, he’s heard griping about reduced fuel economy and the potential for engine wear from ethanol — a grain alcohol that can act as a solvent.

But no, he doesn’t know of any cars that have been wheeled into his Alpine Auto Repair & Service with engine damage that can be traced exclusively to ethanol.

“I have not seen that, but it is just too soon to tell,’’ he said. “If a fuel pump goes out, is it because of age, or because ethanol ate the plastic or rubber?’’

Ethanol-blended fuel has been for sale for only a few months in Northeast Oregon. A state requirement that the biofuel be added to gas officially doesn’t go into effect on the east side of the Cascades until mid-September, but some lawmakers are signaling that they’ve changed their minds about that mandate.

Legislators from east of the Cascades played a critical part in 2007 to help pass the biofuels requirement, saying forcing ethanol and biodiesel into fuel supplies would help to nurture a new industry in Oregon and also open the door for new cash crops in the Umatilla Basin.

But now, with public opinion souring somewhat about ethanol, several Central Oregon legislators who supported the original law said Thursday they have drafted a bill that would repeal those rules.

“Oregonians are suffering from the unintended consequences of this new law,’’ said Rep. George Gilman, R-Medford, the vice chairman of the House Transportation Committee.

Gilman had signaled in May that he was mulling an attempt to repeal the law. Thursday’s announcement confirmed it.

Yet the political chances for a reversal may be slim: Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski hasn’t signaled any retreat from his efforts to spur renewable fuel development, and even some Republicans say ethanol is probably here to stay.

“There is kind of a movement to do away with mandates, but although ethanol may not be the complete answer here, we need to keep it part of the mix,’’ said Sen. David Nelson, R-Pendleton, who represents Umatilla, Wallowa and Union counties.

He said he is philosophically opposed to mandates, but also said they can be a tool to develop a market for a product and boost demand for crops. The Pacific Ethanol Columbia plant at the Port of Morrow was built because Oregon needed ethanol to blend into gas.

“It’s a fine line in this case,’’ Nelson said.

He said the new legislation appears to be a reaction to growing public backlash, and lawmakers need to be sensitive to such sentiments.

“From a political standpoint, it could be a big battle next year. Everybody is going to be testing the wind to see where they end up.’’

Rep. Jackie Dingfelder, D-Portland, the chairwoman of the House Energy and Environment Committee, said in May that any retreat would be foolish at a time fuel prices are rising. Prices are going up because of worldwide demand for gas — not solely because of ethanol, she said.

But ethanol critics counter with several reasons: Fears about engine damage and realization that ethanol does not provide the same fuel economy, meaning motorists need to buy more fuel to drive the same distances.

Also, because ethanol is made from corn, it has been blamed for helping boost food prices, although it is impossible to say by how much.

Rem Nivens, a spokesman for Kulongoski, said the governor wants to stay the course.

“He is willing to look at whatever considerations and concerns people have, but there has not been enough evidence to reverse it,’’ Nivens said.

Among those seeking the repeal is Rep. Chuck Burley, R-Bend, the vice chairman of the House Energy and Environment Committee and a key advocate for the original law because he hoped a guaranteed market would spur development of so-called cellulosic ethanol, which can be made from wood waste.

Burley said Thursday he doesn’t expect that it would change much to drop the mandates.

Ethanol will be blended into fuel — the industry has already retooled pipelines and added fuel-blending facilities at distribution depots, he said. He doesn’t worry that elimination of the requirement will slow research into cellulosic ethanol.

“There are different ways than mandates to reach the same goals,’’ he said.

Burley said not enough attention was spent on the potential downsides of ethanol when the biofuel law was passed by wide margins.

“Would it pass in the same form today? Perhaps not,’’ he said.

Lawmakers in February’s session tweaked the law so that non-blended fuels would be available for boats, antique cars, ATVs and small engines such as chainsaws.

At Paul’s Chevron in Joseph, where four pumps sit on a single island, some customers are talking about ethanol and nobody has been excited about it, said attendant Jesse Dodson, who lives in Enterprise.

“I had some folks come in a few days ago asking if there was ethanol in the tanks,’’ Dodson said. “They were disappointed when they found out there is.’’