Biden EPA to Allow Summer Sales of Higher-Ethanol E15 Gasoline
(Bloomberg) -- Biden administration officials have decided to issue an emergency waiver that will allow widespread sales of higher-ethanol E15 gasoline this summer, following a strategy used last year to help tamp down high pump prices.
The waiver, set to be announced by the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday, will temporarily exempt the 15% ethanol fuel blend from volatility requirements that effectively block sales from June 1 to Sept. 15 throughout much of the country. The planned move was described by people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the decision isn’t public.
The waiver comes after weeks of lobbying by ethanol advocates, including elected officials from corn-producing Midwest states, who were frustrated by a separate Biden administration decision to delay another policy action that aimed to expand summertime E15 sales until next year.
To justify the emergency move, the EPA is set to cite similar conditions that provided the foundation for a series of the temporary waivers last year, the people said. At the time, the EPA argued that the fuel volatility waiver for E15 was in the public interest and needed to address “fuel supply circumstances” spurred by the war in Ukraine.
Oil industry advocates have questioned the legality of the emergency approach, raising the specter of a court challenge.
Spokespeople for the EPA did not immediately respond to requests for comment after normal business hours.
Conventional E10 gasoline, which is widely sold across the US, has a partial waiver from the same fuel volatility limits already — an exemption Midwestern governors have asked the EPA to abolish.
An analysis conducted for the pro-ethanol group Growth Energy said that when summertime E15 sales were greenlighted last year, the blend cost nearly $1-per-gallon less than conventional E10 in some areas.
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
KEEPING THE ENERGY INDUSTRY CONNECTED
Subscribe to our newsletter and get the best of Energy Connects directly to your inbox each week.
By subscribing, you agree to the processing of your personal data by dmg events as described in the Privacy Policy.
More oil news

Trump to Create White House Council to Drive Energy Dominance

Oil Steadies as Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs Add to Trade Tensions

Isuzu to Build Car Plant in South Carolina as Trump Tariffs Loom

SoftBank Weighs Debt-Heavy Financing in $500 Billion AI Push

Stocks Climb as Traders Brush Aside Tariff Threats: Markets Wrap

Moove Works to Control Fire Within Complex in Rio de Janeiro

Stocks Slide as Tariff Angst Adds to Price Worries: Markets Wrap

China’s Oil Teapots Cut Runs to Pandemic Levels After Sanctions

China Refiners Set to Resell US Oil Cargoes After Tariff Blitz
