The American Coalition for Ethanol today reacted to the Biden Administration’s decision to allow the sale of E15 year-round in eight Midwest states, but not until the summer of 2025. In April of 2022, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin petitioned EPA for this step to protect the air quality of their citizens, and by law, EPA should have taken action on the petitions in July of 2022.
“As the saying goes, ‘better late than never,’ but EPA had a legal responsibility to approve E15 year-round in these states more than a year and a half ago, so postponing the effective date to April 28, 2025 is disappointing,” said Brian Jennings, ACE CEO. “While we are grateful this issue will be settled in Midwest states with more than half the current E15 retail sites, our urgent priority is to find a solution for continued nationwide access to E15 this summer.”
The announcement was welcomed by the National Corn Growers Association, which has been fighting to break down barriers to the environmentally friendly biofuels.
“We are glad to hear this decision from EPA, as it puts us on the road to providing more certainty to America’s corn growers and consumers who will save money at the pump,” said NCGA President and Minnesota Farmer Harold Wolle. “However, given that this decision will not take effect until the summer of 2025, we question and are concerned about the implications of the timeline for growers and consumers this summer.”
“While we are pleased with today’s decision, we still need a law that codifies access to higher levels of ethanol and that eliminates the patchwork of state regulations on the issue,” said Wolle. “That is why we are pushing for the passage of the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act in the Senate to solve this issue once and for all.”
The sale of E15 has been banned during the summer months to meet federal clean air standards that have been shown to be unnecessary and outdated. The U.S. EPA has granted waivers over the last few years to allow drivers continued access to environmentally friendly and affordable E15.
Even after today’s announcement, NCGA says a permanent legislative fix is still needed.
ACE, NCGA news releases
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