The emergency waiver will help keep fuel costs down and support U.S. agriculture
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted an emergency waiver to allow the sales of E15 during the summer driving season.
The waiver goes into effect on May 1 and will last for at least 20 days.
Currently, under the Clean Air Act, E15 isn’t allowed to be sold in the summer because it evaporates faster in warm weather and can cause air pollution issues.
The EPA issued the waiver on April 28.
On April 5, ag and renewable fuel organizations wrote to President Biden asking his administration to implement the waiver.
Issuing the waiver will help protect Americans from supply issues created by the war in Ukraine and support the U.S. ag sector, said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
“Allowing E15 sales during the summer driving season will not only help increase fuel supply, but support American farmers, strengthen U.S. energy security, and provide relief to drivers across the country,” he said in an April 28 statement.
E15 is available in 31 states at more than 2,500 stations, the U.S. Department of Energy says.
And E15 is about 25 cents per gallon cheaper than E10.
Industry groups are pleased with the EPA’s waiver decision.
“EPA’s action will help address fuel supply constraints and ensure drivers continue to have access to a lower-cost fuel choice that cuts emissions,” Tom Haag, president of the National Corn Growers Association, said in a statement.
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) also supports the waiver implementation.
Issuing waivers for the past two summers is good, but allowing E15 sales year-round is the solution the industry needs, said Brian Jennings, CEO of ACE.
“We are grateful EPA intends to issue new waivers effectively covering the 2023 summer season as it did in 2022, but a permanent remedy to expand consumer access for E15 long term is still necessary,” he said. “This annual drama of threatened summertime E15 sales, followed by last-minute reprieves, has got to end.”