PROVO — Motorists in Utah Valley are pumped at the possibility that a much-cursed winter fuel program may soon go the way of the Edsel.
An air-quality board voted Wednesday to eliminate the use of oxygenated gasoline in Utah County, the only county in the Beehive State required to use the fuel, which is supposed to curb carbon monoxide emissions.
But many said the fuel, which was more costly than fuel without the additives, damaged engines and drove down mile-per-gallon rates in most cars.
"I own a pretty old car, and the engine doesn't do very well on it," said Craig Paul, a Brigham Young University graduate student, while filling up Friday at a Provo gas station.
"My gas mileage goes down about 10 miles per gallon," he said.
Since 1992, fuel suppliers in Utah Valley have been forced by federal mandate only sell oxygen-ated fuel from Oct. 1 to the last day in February.
Utah County Commissioner Jerry Grover, who is on the air-quality board, said he has long-believed that the fuel was not needed to maintain air quality.
Politics played a large role in the rules surrounding how a community that was forced into the program could prove that air quality had improved enough to warrant an end to the program, Grover said.
"It had nothing to do with any scientific analysis," he said in a written statement.
The board voted for a new carbon monoxide maintenance plan that will become Utah law on May 18.
The Environmental Protection Agency — now headed by former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt — is expected to approve new air-quality rules that would put Utah County into compliance with federal guidelines.
That would push Utah County off the list of regions that must use the oxy-fuel in the winter.
The EPA needs to act before the end of June to notify fuel suppliers. While gas stations in the county were forced to sell the fuel, many drivers refused to buy it.
A growing number of Utah County motorists drove to gas stations just across the Salt Lake-Utah county border to fill tanks. As a result, Utah County gas station owners lost not only gasoline sales, but also food and other items sold at convenience stores.
One gas station manager said she loses about a third of her business when the requirement is in force.
"I have a class in Salt Lake once a week so I wait to fill up there," said Dave Wolsey, a BYU student. "I get 50 miles per tank less when I fill up here."
Like Grover, other Utah County officials have long said the fuel is of little benefit to cars built since 1995, although some say oxygenated fuel may help clean out the engines of older cars.
Officials estimated last year that the fuel would cost Utah County motorists an extra $3 million this winter.
Utah officials failed to get the paperwork completed on time to stop the federal mandate this past winter, Herbert said. This year they jumped on it early, officials said.
E-mail: rodger@desnews.com