Lockyer sues over Ethanol mandate

Getting nowhere with the federal government, California officials are going to court to get rid of the silly oxygenate mandate for California gasoline.

California's attorney general sued the U.S. government Monday to wipe out the federal rule requiring the use of ethanol in California gas tanks.

But new federal energy legislation awaiting President Bush's signature could soften the ethanol requirement and possibly render the lawsuit meaningless, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer acknowledged.

For years California has been fighting a federal requirement that says ethanol must be blended into the gasoline sold in most of California.

The federal government says ethanol helps clean the air, but California says the corn-based additive is expensive and, because of its chemical properties, actually worsens air pollution in hot weather.