TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) — Consumers across the US can blend E15 gasoline in a higher ethanol this summer, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday, posting annoyed environmentalists who believe the move can harm the air and water, but believe that the move can damage the air and water.
EPA-issued emergency exemptions prevent most state retailers from halting E15 gasoline sales on May 1. The exemption remains in effect until May 20th, but EPA administrator Lee Zeldin signaled that the federal government will generally issue the exemption until September 15th, the date that allows E15s to be sold in all states.
Most gasoline sold in the US is blended with 10% ethanol, but 15% blends are becoming more and more common, especially in the Midwest, where most of the country’s corn is grown. E15 gasoline usually costs at least 10 cents of gallons than E10 gasoline, but the EPA banned sales over the summer over concerns that use during the summer driving season could increase smog.
However, the EPA relaxed the E15 restrictions, granting a series of short-term exemptions in 2022, 2023 and 2024, allowing sales nationwide until summer. And last year, the EPA issued rules allowing annual sales in eight Midwest states in Iowa, the top US corn producer.
Trump administration officials said Monday’s actions will reduce consumer costs and provide more options at the pump, while also increasing demand for corn. They also said it would reduce America’s dependence on imported energy.
“Our country’s great corn growers are important to help the United States achieve energy independence, essential to national security,” Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins said in a statement.
Ethanol industry and Iowa officials praised the EPA’s actions, but the Renewable Fuel Association, a trade group for ethanol producers, argued that Congress should approve legislation allowing E15s to be sold throughout the year in the United States.
“The market needs long-term certainty for the E15’s economic and energy security benefits to be fully realized,” said Geoff Cooper, president and CEO.
The biofuel industry and politicians of both major political parties have argued that ethanol will help farmers, lower pump prices and lower greenhouse gases.
However, ethanol consumes around 40% of corn crops nationwide, and environmentalists argue that the higher corn production, the more it leads to the use of fertilizer, the main source of water pollution.
Zach Pistra, a Kansas lobbyist at the Sierra Club, said ethanol plants also use large amounts of water, and states like Kansas are worried about the depletion of aquifers. He said portraying ethanol as environmentally friendly is “hypocritical” and that the Trump administration should promote renewable energy, electric vehicles, public transport and sustainable agriculture.
“We need to dramatically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, but reliance on corn-based ethanol does not put our country on the path we need,” Pistra said in an interview.
