Liquid transportation fuel stakeholders have reunited in an effort to move year-round, nationwide sales of E15 back to the front burner again.
After recently stepping back from its support of E15 legislation in October, the American Petroleum Institute (API) today joined organizations representing ethanol producers, oil refiners, fuel marketers, travel plazas, truck stops and convenience store retailers in a letter to President Donald Trump to express the need for “long-term policy certainty across the transportation fuel sector.”
The letter also urges the White House to support legislative action providing lasting certainty to this issue and reforming the Small Refinery Exemption (SRE) program. “The current SRE structure has encouraged a system of winners and losers that distorts the marketplace, creates instability, and ultimately, hurts consumers,” the organizations wrote. “A more consistent and narrowly applied SRE structure would create a far more predictable regulatory environment.”
Other signatories on the letter included Growth Energy, National Association of Convenience Stores, NATSO, Representing America’s Travel Centers and Truck Stops, Renewable Fuels Association, and SIGMA: America’s Leading Fuel Marketers.
The groups stressed the need for these issues to be addressed for the long term. “The absence of nationwide E15 and the administration of the SRE program present varying challenges for our industries. They both impact investment and compliance planning, blending decisions, and the stability of national fuel supply chains. Addressing these two issues through clear legislation would provide a more coherent and durable policy foundation, reduce volatility, and enhance confidence for all participants in the transportation fuel sector.”