20 Senators Urge President Trump to Reject E15 Regulation in New Letter

A bipartisan group of senators recently sent a letter to President Trump, urging him to reject the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) consideration to expand the sale of gasoline with 15 percent ethanol.

“In recent months, media outlets reported that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering regulatory action to expand the sale of gasoline with 15 percent ethanol by volume (E15) year-round by waiving certain Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements related to Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP),” the senators write. “However, a one-sided approach to addressing concerns related to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that favors only one industry stakeholder is misguided. We are concerned that doing so would do nothing to address the policies impacting refinery jobs, could hurt millions of consumers whose vehicles and equipment are not compatible with higher ethanol blended gasoline, and risk worsening air quality.”

As Capitol Update reported back in April, the EPA currently bans the use of E15 fuel—a gasoline mixture that contains 15 percent ethanol as opposed to the normal 10 percent—during the summer months due to the risk that the higher percentage of ethanol leads to an increase in ground-level ozone emissions. However, following on promises to corn-state voters, the administration is considering removing the ban on E15 fuel during the summer months, allowing for a significant increase in ethanol consumption and a boon to corn-state candidates ahead of the November elections. 

To read the letter in full, click here: https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Letter%20to%20Trump%20E15.pdf