Groups Urge Congress For Permanent E15 Year-Round Waiver
Last week, the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Petroleum Institute, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Growth Energy, NACS, National Corn Growers Association, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Farmers Union, National Sorghum Producers, NATSO, Renewable Fuels Association and SIGMA sent a letter in support of a permanent E15 year-round waiver legislative fix.
The groups prefer a national year-round waiver for E15 rather than a Midwest regional RVP waiver (requested earlier this year from several Midwest governors).
A Midwest regional RVP waiver would require two new boutique gasoline blendstocks (regular and premium), would reduce the fungibility of gasoline in the seven-state region, create supply bottlenecks, limit supply generally, raise prices at the pump and lead to the year-round sale of E15 in the affected states.
EMA is also opposed to the regional RVP waiver and recently joined American and Petrochemical Manufacturers Association (AFPM) and ten additional state and national trade associations to petition the EPA to delay a permanent year-round waiver of the one-pound RVP limit on E10.
The waiver was requested in a letter signed by eight Midwestern governors’ last April.
While there is no guarantee Congress can fix the issue legislatively before the end of the year, EMA continues to remind Congress of E15 compatibility issues and requests additional funding for USDA’s Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) with guaranteed set asides for small businesses to ensure E15 can safely and legally be sold nationwide.
