EXHIBIT
31.1
CERTIFICATION
OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER
PURSUANT
TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
I,
Neil
M. Koehler, certify that:
1. I
have reviewed this
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Pacific Ethanol, Inc.;
2. Based
on my knowledge,
this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit
to
state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect
to the period covered by this report;
3. Based
on
my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included
in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition,
results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the
periods presented in this report;
4. The
registrant’s other
certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining
disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e)
and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and
have:
(a) Designed
such disclosure
controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures
to be
designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating
to
the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us
by
others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this
report is being prepared;
(b) Designed
such internal
control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial
reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of
financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles;
(c) Evaluated
the
effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and
presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the
disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by
this
report based on such evaluation; and
(d) Disclosed
in this report
any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that
occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s
fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially
affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s
internal control over financial reporting.
5. The
registrant’s other
certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation
of
internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the
audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing
the equivalent functions):
(a) All
significant
deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal
control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect
the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial
information; and
(b) Any
fraud, whether or not
material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant
role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
| Date:
May 10, 2007 |
/s/
NEIL M. KOEHLER |
| |
Neil M. Koehler
President and Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive
Officer)
|