Provo resident Lee Allen bought gasoline for his car in Salt Lake County on Tuesday.
"I had to go to Salt Lake on business and just filled up there," he said. "I'd rather have theirs than ours."That's because gas in Utah County is injected with, in many residents' opinion, an undesirable additive every year between Nov. 1 and Feb. 28. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires service stations in the county to infuse oxygen into the fuel to curb carbon monoxide pollution.
Oxygenated gasoline burns more completely than regular gasoline, reducing the amount of CO spewed into the air. Officials believe the oxygen content reduces automobile emissions, although that is the subject of some controversy. Some car owners complain that the fuel causes engine trouble and decreases gas mileage.
Allen, a member of the Utah Valley Clean Air Commission, is not alone in his disdain for the special gas.
Nearly one-quarter of Utah County residents prefer to tank up outside of Utah County because of the oxygenated fuel, according to a Dan Jones & Associates poll for the Deseret News Utah County Bureau. Jones surveyed 405 people from Dec. 10 to Dec. 16. The survey has an error margin of plus or minus 5 percent.
People living south of Provo and north of Orem were more likely to buy gas outside Utah County than Provo and Orem residents, the poll shows. Nearly one-third of people over age 54 fill up elsewhere compared to about one-fourth of those under that age.
The numbers didn't surprise Paul Ashton, who owns Stadium Chevron and Food Mart adjacent Cougar Stadium in Provo.
"I can put it in perspective for you. How would you like a 24 percent cut in pay?" he said. "If 24 percent of people go buy their gas somewhere else, I just took a cut in pay."
Ashton said he uses oxygenated fuel in vehicles and has had no prob-lems with it.
A Utah Valley gas station's loss can be a Salt Lake Valley station's gain.
"I do have a few customers every Sunday morning that are from Utah County," said John Miller, a Chevron cashier in Sandy. He said some do it to avoid having to buy oxygenated fuel, although it's difficult to quantify how many.
Miller said he hasn't noticed a huge bump in sales during Utah County's oxygenated fuel season, but business does pick up somewhat.
Ashton, executive director of the Petroleum Retailers Organization, is a longtime critic of federal regulations imposed on local government, especially ones regarding oxygenated gasoline and vehicle emission testing.
The EPA considers Utah County a "nonattainment" area for federal pollution standards for carbon monoxide. Vehicle emissions are the greatest source of CO in Utah Valley. Federal and state officials attribute the recent trend toward cleaner air to oxygenated fuel use.
Carbon monoxide infractions generally occur in the winter when stagnant air tends to trap vehicle tailpipe emissions.
"Everyone will say oxyfuel is saving us from CO violations," said Utah County Commissioner Jerry Grover, an environmental engineer before being elected. "I'm just not convinced."
Some environmental scientists suggest oxyfuels' elevated levels of fine-particulate pollution, which can be more hazardous to human health.
Grover, who admits to buying his gas in Salt Lake County when he has the chance, said it doesn't make sense to continue using oxygenated fuel as people drive newer cars. The special gas is more effective in older cars.
Still, it looks like the fuel is here to stay.
That gripes Ashton, who says he could spend hours talking about "how ugly this thing is."
And though he doesn't mind doing that, he said calling attention to oxygenated gasoline takes a bite out his bottom line. "Every time you run the story, it's going to hurt me again," he said.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Deseret News / Utah County Poll
As you know, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires Utah County service stations to sell only oxygenated gasoline from November to March. Do you typically buy your gasoline outside of Utah County because of this rule?
Yes 24%
No 75%
Don't know 1%
This poll of 405 Utah County residents was conducted by Dan Jones & Associates Dec. 10-16, 1997. It has a margin of error of +/-5 percent.