After waiting until the very last minute, the Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency fuel waiver to allow E15 gasoline — gasoline blended with 15% ethanol — to be sold during the summer driving season this year. A decision had to be made before April 30 so terminal operators would still be able to sell the blend after May 1. …
EPA Agrees to Allow Summer E15 This Year
After weeks of intense lobbying by ethanol supporters, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided to use its existing authority to provide continued access throughout the summer months for E15, literally at the very last moment to allow continued sale of the fuel from terminals after April 30th EPA announced today that the 15% ethanol fuel blend will be exempted …
Comment Period for Eight State E15 Waiver Ends
The comment period for EPA’s proposed rule issued in response to petitions by the governors of several Midwest states to remove the 1-pound per square inch Reid vapor pressure waiver for summer conventional gasoline containing 10% ethanol ended yesterday, almost exactly one year to the day since it was requested. EPA is proposing to remove the 1-psi waiver in Illinois, …
EPA Administrator Grilled on Summer E15
Despite repeated questioning from members of the House Agriculture Committee on the topic, EPA Administrator Michael Regan refused to say when, or if, the agency will grant emergency waivers to allow retail sales of E15 this summer. “If I give you an answer today I can guarantee you that somebody’s going to file into court and it’s going to be …
Senators Urge EPA to Strengthen RFS
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) led a bipartisan group of 14 colleagues in a letter urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The senators specifically request EPA strengthen the RFA by maintaining the blending requirements for 2023; denying all pending Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs); eliminating proposed retroactive cuts to the …
With E15 in Limbo, Biden Backs EVs
It was one year ago today that President Joe Biden visited an Iowa ethanol plant to announce an emergency waiver to allow 15% ethanol fuel to be sold across the United States during the summer months. “(W)ith this waiver, on June 1, you’re not going to show up at your local gas station and see a bag over the pump …
Couser Provides Grassroots Input to EPA
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan recently appointed members for the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee (FRRCC), including Iowa livestock producer and ethanol investor Bill Couser. Established in 2007, the FRRCC provides independent policy advice, information, and recommendations to the EPA administrator on a range of environmental issues and policies that are of importance to agriculture and …
ACE DC Fly-in Kicks Off With EPA Official
Environmental Protection Agency Senior Agricultural Advisor Rod Snyder was happy to be able to join the American Coalition for Ethanol to kick off the organization’s first fly-in since 2019, but he unfortunately had little to say about the most important issue on the industry’s plate – allowing sales of E15 this summer. “While I can’t comment specifically at this time, …
EPA Holds Virtual Hearing on Proposed E15 Waiver
The Environmental Protection Agency held a virtual hearing Tuesday on the recently proposed rule for a permanent waiver to allow eight states to sell E15 year round. For ethanol stakeholders, comments boiled down to one message: EPA took too long to respond to the governors’ request and must do something immediately to implement a waiver before summer. Renewable Fuels Association …
Iowa Governor Receives RFA Industry Award
A well-deserved award was presented during the National Ethanol Conference in Orlando by the Renewable Fuels Association this week to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds for her untiring efforts on behalf of the entire ethanol industry. The award was presented the day after a major victory for the governor in the proposed rule from EPA that will allow her state and …