The Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) has become the newest member of the Coalition for E85 to help educate policymakers about the need for 85% ethanol blended gasoline to be designated as an alternative fuel in the tax code.

“If we don’t enable E85 to compete with gasoline, we could see the entire Flex Fuel industry disappear,” said Dan Gilligan, President of PMAA, which represents 8,000 independent petroleum marketing companies. “Our members, automakers, and 9 million American drivers have invested in E85 infrastructure and Flex Fuel vehicles. With E85 so close to self-sustainability, these investments must be protected.”

The recently-formed Coalition notes that E85 is the most widely adopted alternative fuel and is defined in the Energy Policy Act of 1992 as an alternative fuel, rather than a fuel additive. “E85 is an alternative fuel just as compressed natural gas, propane, and hydrogen,” contends the group. “These alternative fuels receive a 50-cent per gallon tax credit as part of the Alternative Fuel Credit and E85 should receive the same tax treatment.”

The Coalition for E85 is an alliance of retailers, producers, equipment manufacturers, automobile manufacturers, and others supporting E85. More than 2,500 small businesses across the country have installed E85 pumps to date.