An E15 pump label.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued an emergency fuel waiver to allow E15 gasoline – gasoline blended with 15% ethanol – to be sold during the summer driving season. This allows the states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations to sell the fuel that otherwise would be banned for the summer. Estimates show that on average, E15 is about $0.25 a gallon cheaper than E10. (read AutoInformed previously on: EPA Emergency Order Allows Summer Sale of E15 Gasoline)
“Under President Biden’s leadership, EPA is taking action to protect Americans from fuel supply challenges resulting from ongoing conflict overseas by ensuring consumers have more choices at the pump,” said Administrator Michael S. Regan.* “Allowing E15 sales during the summer driving season will increase fuel supply, while supporting American farmers, strengthening our nation’s energy security, and providing relief to drivers across the country.”
Currently, in roughly two-thirds of the country, E15 cannot be sold from terminals starting on 1 May and at retail stations starting on 1 June. EPA is providing relief by extending the 1-psi Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver that currently applies to E10 gasoline to E15, which will enable E15 sales throughout the summer driving season in these areas, if necessary. This action only extends the 1-psi waiver to E15 in parts of the country where it already exists for E10. E15 can already be sold year-round in parts of the country that have a Reformulated Gasoline program.**
Because the RVP of E10 and E15 gasoline used by consumers will be the same, EPA does not expect any impact on air quality from this limited action. EPA’s research has shown no significant impact on evaporative emissions when the 1-psi waiver is extended to E15. With no significant impacts on emissions from cars and trucks, EPA said it expects consumers can continue to use E15 without concern that its use in the summer will impact air quality. [RVP is an abbreviation for “Reid vapor pressure,” a common measure of and generic term for gasoline volatility. EPA regulates the vapor pressure of gasoline sold at retail stations during the summer ozone season to reduce evaporative emissions from gasoline that contribute to ground-level ozone and diminish the effects of ozone-related health problems.]
EPA’s emergency fuel waiver will go into effect on 1 May when terminal operators would otherwise no longer be able to sell E15 in the affected regions of the country and will last through 20 May 2024, which is the statutory maximum of 20 days. EPA will continue to monitor the supply with industry and federal partners, and the EPA said it expects to issue new waivers effectively extending the emergency fuel waiver “until such time as the extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East are no longer present.”
* The Clean Air Act allows the EPA Administrator, in discussion with the Department of Energy, to temporarily waive certain fuel requirements to address shortages. As a result of ongoing issues with gasoline supplies Administrator Regan determined that extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances exist and has granted a temporary waiver to help ensure that an adequate supply of gasoline is available. As required by the Clean Air Act, EPA and DOE evaluated the situation and determined that granting the waiver was in the public interest.
** Reformulated gasoline (RFG) is gasoline blended to burn more cleanly than conventional gasoline and to reduce smog-forming and toxic pollutants in the air we breathe. The RFG program was mandated by Congress in the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments. The first phase of the RFG program began in 1995 and the second phase began in 2000. RFG is required in cities with high smog levels and is optional elsewhere. RFG is currently used in 17 states and the District of Columbia. About 25% of gasoline sold in the U.S. is reformulated.
In June 1989 an awakened President George H. W. Bush proposed sweeping revisions to the Clean Air Act at a time long past when the Republican party was concerned about American security, the economy and the environment. Building on Congressional proposals advanced during the 1980s, President Bush proposed legislation designed to curb three major threats to the nation’s environment and to the health of millions of Americans: acid rain, urban air pollution, and toxic air emissions. The proposal also called for establishing a national permits program to make the law more practical, and an improved enforcement program to help compliance. [See also Vital Statistics on Congress from the Brookings Institute]
Back then both the House of Representatives (401-21) and the Senate (89-11) passed bi-partisan Clean Air bills that contained the major components of the President’s proposals. Both bills also added provisions requiring the phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals, roughly according to the schedule outlined in international negotiations (Revised Montreal Protocol). The Senate and House bills also added research and development requirements, as well as detailed programs to address accidental releases of toxic air pollutants. This in AutoInformed’s view is now not only long in the past, but currently vehemently rejected by what are now Republicans in name only.
EPA Grants Emergency Fuel Waiver for Ethanol
An E15 pump label.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued an emergency fuel waiver to allow E15 gasoline – gasoline blended with 15% ethanol – to be sold during the summer driving season. This allows the states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations to sell the fuel that otherwise would be banned for the summer. Estimates show that on average, E15 is about $0.25 a gallon cheaper than E10. (read AutoInformed previously on: EPA Emergency Order Allows Summer Sale of E15 Gasoline)
“Under President Biden’s leadership, EPA is taking action to protect Americans from fuel supply challenges resulting from ongoing conflict overseas by ensuring consumers have more choices at the pump,” said Administrator Michael S. Regan.* “Allowing E15 sales during the summer driving season will increase fuel supply, while supporting American farmers, strengthening our nation’s energy security, and providing relief to drivers across the country.”
Currently, in roughly two-thirds of the country, E15 cannot be sold from terminals starting on 1 May and at retail stations starting on 1 June. EPA is providing relief by extending the 1-psi Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver that currently applies to E10 gasoline to E15, which will enable E15 sales throughout the summer driving season in these areas, if necessary. This action only extends the 1-psi waiver to E15 in parts of the country where it already exists for E10. E15 can already be sold year-round in parts of the country that have a Reformulated Gasoline program.**
Because the RVP of E10 and E15 gasoline used by consumers will be the same, EPA does not expect any impact on air quality from this limited action. EPA’s research has shown no significant impact on evaporative emissions when the 1-psi waiver is extended to E15. With no significant impacts on emissions from cars and trucks, EPA said it expects consumers can continue to use E15 without concern that its use in the summer will impact air quality. [RVP is an abbreviation for “Reid vapor pressure,” a common measure of and generic term for gasoline volatility. EPA regulates the vapor pressure of gasoline sold at retail stations during the summer ozone season to reduce evaporative emissions from gasoline that contribute to ground-level ozone and diminish the effects of ozone-related health problems.]
EPA’s emergency fuel waiver will go into effect on 1 May when terminal operators would otherwise no longer be able to sell E15 in the affected regions of the country and will last through 20 May 2024, which is the statutory maximum of 20 days. EPA will continue to monitor the supply with industry and federal partners, and the EPA said it expects to issue new waivers effectively extending the emergency fuel waiver “until such time as the extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East are no longer present.”
* The Clean Air Act allows the EPA Administrator, in discussion with the Department of Energy, to temporarily waive certain fuel requirements to address shortages. As a result of ongoing issues with gasoline supplies Administrator Regan determined that extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances exist and has granted a temporary waiver to help ensure that an adequate supply of gasoline is available. As required by the Clean Air Act, EPA and DOE evaluated the situation and determined that granting the waiver was in the public interest.
** Reformulated gasoline (RFG) is gasoline blended to burn more cleanly than conventional gasoline and to reduce smog-forming and toxic pollutants in the air we breathe. The RFG program was mandated by Congress in the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments. The first phase of the RFG program began in 1995 and the second phase began in 2000. RFG is required in cities with high smog levels and is optional elsewhere. RFG is currently used in 17 states and the District of Columbia. About 25% of gasoline sold in the U.S. is reformulated.
In June 1989 an awakened President George H. W. Bush proposed sweeping revisions to the Clean Air Act at a time long past when the Republican party was concerned about American security, the economy and the environment. Building on Congressional proposals advanced during the 1980s, President Bush proposed legislation designed to curb three major threats to the nation’s environment and to the health of millions of Americans: acid rain, urban air pollution, and toxic air emissions. The proposal also called for establishing a national permits program to make the law more practical, and an improved enforcement program to help compliance. [See also Vital Statistics on Congress from the Brookings Institute]
Back then both the House of Representatives (401-21) and the Senate (89-11) passed bi-partisan Clean Air bills that contained the major components of the President’s proposals. Both bills also added provisions requiring the phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals, roughly according to the schedule outlined in international negotiations (Revised Montreal Protocol). The Senate and House bills also added research and development requirements, as well as detailed programs to address accidental releases of toxic air pollutants. This in AutoInformed’s view is now not only long in the past, but currently vehemently rejected by what are now Republicans in name only.